61 X^  cu.A.-^A-.^U]C5cde.v(^^ 


1 


L«^ 


BX  9A22  .WA7  1832 

Whelpley,  Samuel,  1766-1817. 

The  triangel 


?©£<S^^Q« 


Ci^a^u^tTi^ 


THE    TRIANGLE 


SERIES  OF   NUMBERS 


THREE  THEOLOGICAL  POINTS, 


EN'FORCED 


FROM    VARIOUS    PULPITS 


CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


BY  INVESTIGATOR. 


O.  HALSTED— Comer  of  Nassau  and  rcdar  StTceU 
JOHN  WILEY— ee  Na«sau-str«-c«. 

183-2. 


i^ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1831,  by  Ann  Wiielp- 
LEY,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New-York,  in  the  Second  Circuit. 


DEDICATION, 


To  the  People  of  JSTeic-York. 

The  first  of  the  following  numbers  was  published  in 
the  New-York  Courier.  A  note  in  that  paper,  the  follow- 
ing* day,  stated,  that  the  editor  of  the  paper  declined  pub- 
lishing the  remainder  of  the  work,  because  it  was  likely  to 
l^ive  offence.  I  preferred  a  public  paper  to  a  pamphlet 
form,  for  two  reasons :  one  was,  that  a  newspaper  is  read 
by  many  persons  who  seldom  have  leisure,  or  inchnation, 
to  labour  through  the  Essays  on  didactic  theology,  found 
in  Magazines,  Sermons,  and  Systematic  Discourses.  The 
other  was,  that  I  entered  on  the  publication  not  as  a  theo- 
logian or  controversialist,  but  as  a  spectator  and  reporter  of 
facts. 

To  be  candid,  the  work  was  principally  designed  for  the 
edification  of  those  who  would  be  willing  to  be  styled 
high-toned  Calvinists,  And  it  may  seem,  perhaps,  to  some 
a  little  paradoxical,  that  the  very  first  number  should  kindle 
such  a  flame  of  resentment,  as  to  cause  alarm  to  the  editor, 
of  whose  correct  taste  and  liberal  sentiments  I  have  no 


■L^ 


IV 

doubt,  when  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  number  does  no  more 
than  condemn  a  sentiment  which  Calvin  condemns,  or,  at 
any  rate,  does  not  justify — I  mean  the  imputation  of  the  guilt 
of  Adam^s  sin  to  his  posterity ^  independently  of  their  own 
conduct  and  character.  Neither  Calvin,  Luther,  nor  Me- 
lancthon,  believed  in  that  doctrine. 

People  of  New- York,  I  desire  you  to  take  notice,  that 
these  high-toned  Calvinists  were  so  enraged  at  Calvin's 
own  sentiments,  that  the  editor  of  the  Courier  was  induced 
not  to  proceed.  For  your  satisfaction  I  give  you  the  words 
of  Calvin.  He  sums  up  his  opinion  of  original  sin  in  few 
words  :  "  Vedetur,  ergo,  peccatum  originale  hsereditare 
naturae  nostras  pravitas  et  corruptio,  in  omnes  animae  partes 
diffusa."  Wherefore,  original  sin  seems  to  be  the  hereditary 
depravity  and  corruption  of  our  nature  diffused  into  all  parts  of 
the  soul.  "  Neque,"  subjoins  Calvin,  "ista  est  alieni  delicti 
obligatio.  Non  ita  est  accipiendum,  ac  si,  insontes  ipsi  et 
immerentes,  culpam  delicti  ejus  sustineremus."  JSTeither  is 
that  an  obligation  or  accountableness  for  another^s  fault.  Jt 
is  not  to  be  understood  as  though  we,  ourselves  innocent,  should 
sustain  the  blame  of  his  [Mam''s)  transgression. 

I  am  aware  that  most  people  have  not  leisure  to  examine 
authors.  Those,  however,  that  will  take  that  trouble,  will 
perceive  that  the  views  of  Original  Sin,  Depravity,  and 
Atonement,  advocated  in  these  numbers,  are  not  peculiar 
to  New  England,  but,  on  the  contrary,  have  been  known 
and  maintained  in  the  church,  by  many  of  the  ablest  di- 
vines, since  the  Reformation,  and  by  a  majority  in  the 
American  churches. 

But,  fellow  citizens,  it  is  not  so  much  with  their  senti- 


merits  that   I  am  disposed  to  contend,  although  they  are 
sufficiently  incorrect  and  erroneous  ;  it  is  with  their  horribly 
intolerant,  bigoted,  and  pei-secuting-  spirit ;  against   which 
every  man  should  lift  his  voice,  and  proclaim  his  indigna- 
tion.     The    holy  fathers    and  friars  of  the    inquisitoria' 
commission    were  never    more    vindictive   or  implacable. 
It  comes  in  thunders  and  anathemas  from  their  desks  :  in 
cants,  whispers,  and  inuendoes  among  the  throng  :  it  comes 
larded  with  much  holy  grimace^  and  many  sanctimonious 
sighs,  for  the  credulous  and  pious  ;  with  much  logical  jargon 
and  biblical  criticism  for  smatterers  ;  with  spleen  and  gall 
enough,  when  the  company  has  sufficient  pride  and  malice 
to  bear  it ;  and  with  firebands  for  all  the  young  foxes   they 
can   catch.      When  they  have  exhausted  their  topics  of 
argument,  and  that  they  can  soon  do,  without  a  miracle, 
they  resort  to  sarcasm  and  ridicule,   and  here  their  talents 
are    wonderful :    Hercules    often   comes    in   "  head    and 
shoulders." 

These  gentlemen  surely  forget  the-  age  and  country  in 
which  they  live,  by  three  hundred  years.  They  ought  to 
feel  comfortable  whilst  others  think  for  themselves.  And 
one  object  of  these  numbers  is  to  remind  them,  that  they 
live  in  the  year  1816.  A  man.  in  this  city  does  not  expect 
to  share  the  fats  of  Servetus,  though  he  should  diffisr  from 
Calvin.  I  will  not  say  what  a  man  ought  to  expect  when 
he  is  so  fortunate  as  not  to  differ  with  Calvin^. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


FIRST  SERIES. 


Page. 
Dedication, 3 

No.  I.         The  doctrine  of  Original   Sin,  as  forming  the   first  point  of 

the  Triangle,         -         -        -         -        -        -        -         -11 

No.  II.       The  doctrine  o(  Inability,  as  forming  the  second  point  of  the 

Triangle,         .--.----  14 

No.  III.      The  doctrine  of  Atonement,  as  forming  the  third  point  of 

the  Triangle, 16 

No.  IV.       Some  consequences  that   may  be  expected  to  flow  from 

the  inculcation  of  this  scheme  of  doctrine,       -        -         -       18 

No.  V.        Remarks  on  several    of  the    arguments,   or  rather  means 

made  use  of  to   maintain  and  propagate  this    scheme,       25 

No.  VI.      The  doctrine  of  Original  Sin,  as  viewed  by  the  Investigator,       28 

No.  VII.    The  doctrine  of  J^atural  and  Moral  Inability,  as  viewed  by 

the  Investigator, -33 

No.  VIII.  The  doctrine  of  the  .;3fon emenf,  as  viewed  by  the  Investiga- 
tor,          38 

No.  IX.  Remarks  on  "  God's  being  the  Author  of  Sin,"  on  a  sin- 
ner's "  being  willing  to  be  damned  in  order  to  be  saved," 
and  on  the  essence  of  Sin  and  Holiness,        .         -        -      47 

No.  X.  The  Reformatiom  of  the  Church.  The  reformation  of 
Luther  and  his  coadjutors  deficient  in  three  important 
respects — some  remarks  on  the  progress  of  Reformation, 
and  the  opposition  made  to  it  at  the  present  day,  espe- 
cially in    this   city, --56 


SECOND  SERIES. 

Address  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  New- York,        -        -        -      81 
No.  I.  Documents  for  what   is  falsely  called  Xeio  Divinity,  or 

"  Hopkinsianism  ;"  or  a    general  view   of  the  character 
and  writings  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  divines 

in  New  England, -83 

N«.  II.        The  question,  "  Ought  a  Christian  to  be  willing  to  be  dam- 
ned?"  examined  in  reference  to  the  odium  cast  upon 


Vlil  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

those  supposed  to  maintain  the  affirmative — and  placed 
upon  its  proper  footing,          ....--     100 

No.   IIL    "  A  Contrast"  of  Aatinomian  and    Hopkinsian  Calvinism 

— illustrated  by  an  allegorical  dream,  ...     109 

No.  IV»  An  appeal  to  Christians,  grounded  upon  fact,  respecting 
the  tendency  of  what  is  usually  called  the  "  JVeio-Eng- 
Jand  strain  of  Doctrine^''^  as  connected  with  the  great  sub- 
ject of  Revivals   of  Religion,  -         -         -         -         -121 

No.  V.  Metaphysics  ; — nature  and  object,  as  a  science — connex- 
ion with,  and  dependence  upon,  the  principles  and  doc- 
trines of  revealed  truth — false  tenets  in  rehgion  the  result 
of  false  metaphysics — the  irrational  and  miserable  slang 
that  is  levelled  against  it — some  specimens  of  tnangidar 
metaphysics, -         -142 

No.  VL  Remarks  on  the  Pastoral  letter  of  the  synod  of  Philadel- 
phia, dated  Lancaster,  September  20th,    181&.        -         -     157 


THIRD  SERIES. 


Dedicalion,   to   the  learned,  and  long-lived,  John  Doe    and  Richard 

Roe,  Esquires,      -        -        -        -         -        -        -         -163 

No.  I.  On  the  many  advantages  of  the  city  of  New  York,  com- 
m.ercial,  political,  civil,  religious,  and  local,  for  intellectu- 
al and  moral  improvement — together  with  incentives  to 
activity,  and  perseverance  in  cultivating  these  advanta- 
ges,              ,        .        .        .        ,     172 

No.  IL  The  importance  of  encouraging  a  spirit  of  Free  inquiry,  in 
order  to  the  acquisition  of  religious  knowledge — the  ad- 
vance that  has  been  made  in  this  respect,  chiefly  in  this 
country,  upon  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century — 
some  of  the  methods  used  to  discourage  and  check  a  spi- 
rit of  Free  inquiry,  by  many  of  the  advocates  of  the  Tri- 
angular scheme,    --------      1S4 

No.  111..  An  examination  of  several  passages  in  Dr.^J.  B.  Romeyn's 
Sermons,  tending  to  prove  the  assertion,  that  instructions 
grounded  upon  this  scheme  are  "  incorrect  in  their  na- 
ture,"   211 

No.  IV..  A  Letter,  addressed    to  two  distinguished  members   of 

the  Jersey  Presbytery — the  Rev.  Dr,^ ,  and  the  Rev. 

Dr. , 128 

No.  V»  A  few  remarks  on  the  proceedings  of  the  Young  Men's 
Missionary  Society  of  New- York,  in  relation  to  the  re- 
jection of  Mr.  C. ^,  as  their  missionary,        -        -      256 


CONTENTS.  IX 


FOURTH  SERIES. 


Page. 
Preface  to  the  Fourth  Series  of  Numbers,         .        -         -        .        -      259 

No.    I.        The  influence  of  Sectarianism — the  design  of  God  in  permit- 
ting divisions  in  the  Church  of  Christ — connected  with 
an  allegorical  vision,  intended  to  point  out  the  union,  and 
justify  the  claims,  of  Toleration  and  Truth,     -        -      263 
No.  II.        Articles  of  Faith,  agreed  upon  at  Marpurge,  October    3d, 
1529,  by  the  First  Class  of  Reformers,  in  which  no  corner 
of  the  Triangle  is  seen,        ------      285 

No.  III.  Extract  from  a  work,  (printed  1514,  and  dedicated  to 
Sir  Edward  Coke,)  entitled  "  a  full  declaration  of  the 
Faith  and  ceremonies  of  the  Psaltzgraves  Churches  5" 
some  remarks  on  this  Hopkinsian  document,         -        »     288 

No.  IV.     Preface.—.^  Good  Presbijtenan, 309 

No.  V.      Depravity  of  the  understanding  considered,        -         -        -     326 
No.  VI.    A  glance  at  "  Dr.  M'Leod's  Sermons  on  the  nature  of  true 

godliness,"  ----..--339 


FIFTH  SERIES. 

Preface, 343 

Ko.  I.  Depravity   of   the    understanding    considered,     and    con- 

cluded from  the  Fourth  Series,      -----     345 

No.  II.         The  Good  Presbyterian^  concluded  from  the  Fourth  Series,     360 

No.  III.  An  extract  of  a  Letter  from  the  celebrated  Gilbert  Ten- 
nant,  to  his  brother  William  Tennant,  during  his  minis- 
try in  Philadelphia,       -        -        -        -        -        -        -371 

No.  IV.  Thoughts  on  Theological  Truth  ; — being  an  abstract  of  the 
sentiments  of  the  Investigator,  respecting  the  principal 
doctrines  of  Evangelical  Religion,  -        -        -        .      374 


THE  TRIANGLE. 


No.  I. 

It  is  an  old,  and  perhaps  will  be  regarded  as  a  trite  saying, 
that  the  decline  of  morality,  in  a  nation,  precedes  and  ensures 
the  decline  of  its  prosperity.  The  tendency  of  the  increase  of 
wealth,  numbers,  and  refinement,  to  a  deterioration  of  morals,  is 
exemplified  in  the  history  of  the  greatest  nations,  and  is  too  obvi- 
ous to  require  proof,  and  too  well  known  to  need  illustration. 
Happy  would  it  be  for  mankmd,  if  the  natural  tendency  of  nations 
and  societies  to  sink  into  luxury,  extravagance,  dishonesty,  and  all 
the  extremes  of  immorality,  were  not,  in  many  instances,  aided 
by  the  very  means  and  institutions  which  are  professedly  estab- 
lished for  the  opposite  purpose. 

Even  religion,  descended  from  Heaven,  arrayed  in  the  beauties 
of  virtue,  and  her  head  encompassed  with  the  rays  of  divinity,  has 
been  counterfeited,  her  institutions  perverted,  her  doctrines  corrup- 
ted, her  glories  sullied  :  so  that,  instead  of  presenting  any  barrier 
to  vice,  or  any  check  to  immorality,  she  has  often  become  their 
most  efficient  auxiliary.  It  has  been  the  boast,  perhaps  the  felici- 
ty of  this  city,  that  it  abounds  more  than  any  other  city  with  in- 
stitutions designed  to  favour  morality ;  and  while  I  leave  it  for 
the  reader  to  judge  for  himself,  of  the  effect  and  success  of  these 
institutions,  I  am  concerned  to  say  that,  in  my  opinion,  some  of 
the  most  showy  and  prepossessing,  at  any  rate,  the  most  noisy 
means  used  to  promote  morality  and  religion  in  this  city,  are 
amongst  the  most  useless,  false,  and  hollow.  I  refer  to  nothing 
less  than  the  strain  of  preaching  continually  and  incessantly  used 
in  many  of  the  pulpits  of  this  city  ! 

I  have  no  controversy  with  any  one,  nor  do  I  enter  on  this 
subject  in  any  other  than  a  political   point  of  view.     I  consider 


12 

morality  as  the  highest  ornament  and  strongest  bulwark  of  society  ; 
whatever,  therefore,  diminishes  the  motives  and  weakens  the  obli- 
gations to  morality,  comes  no  less  under  the  animadversion  of  the 
politician  than  that  of  the  divine  ;  as  it  surely  no  less  impairs  the 
temporal  than  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  community.  There 
are  a  few  points  which  go  perpetually  into  the  strain  of  preaching 
of  certain  gentlemen ;  and  their  scheme  may  be  compared  to  a 
Triangle,  from  which  they  never  depart,  and  in  which,  if  they 
step  out  of  one  angle,  their  next  step  is  into  another  ;  the  succeed- 
ing one,  into  the  one  from  whence  they  started. 

The  want  of  variety  might  be  compensated  by  force  and  ex- 
pansion of  talents,  were  their  angular  scheme  laid,  both  as  to  its 
sides  and  angles,  in  the  great  field  of  truth. 

Their  scheme  commences  by  teaching  that  the  whole  human 
race  are  guilty  of  the  sin  of  Adam,  independently  of  their  own 
conduct,  and  for  that  sin  are  truly  deserving  of  eternal  punish- 
ment. We  are  apt  to  take  our  opinions  on  the  credit  of  venera- 
ble names  ;  and  very  many  names  deemed  venerable,  if  weighed 
in  the  balance  of  unerring  truth,  would  be  found  to  have  derived 
their  importance  from  a  long  and  industrious  propagation  of  er- 
ror. Probably  no  individual  man  yet  had  time,  candour,  patience, 
and  resolution,  to  examine  and  substantiate,  on  proper  evidence, 
the  whole  mass  of  his  opinions.  Few  men  proceed  to  any  con- 
siderable length  in  this  arduous  work.  They  take  their  opinions, 
nay,  their  articles  of  faith,  as  they  do  the  fashion  of  their  gar- 
ments, not  upon  a  careful  inquiry,  whether  they  are  the  best,  but 
upon  the  testimony  of  the  tailor  who  makes  them,  that  they  are 
in  the  fashion; 

The  doctrine  of  original  sin,  as  just  stated,  is  thus  received 
by  its  advocates.  It  has  descended  from  the  lumber  and  trash 
of  the  dark  times  of  ignorance  and  supertsition,  mysticism,  and 
bigotry.  The  great  reformers  did  nobly,  but  they  did  not  do 
every  thing.  They  merit  the  approbation  of  men,  and  met  with 
divine  acceptance  for  what  they  did,  and  are  certainly  to  be  ex- 
cused for  what  they  omitted,  in  their  great  work.  I  speak  as 
though  the  reformers  held  the  doctrine  of  original  sin  according 
to  the  tenor  of  the  preceding  statement.  Some  of  them  did, 
others  did  not ;  and  the  truth  is,  that  a  candid  examination  of  the 


13 

sentiments  of  the  fathers — of  the  most  learned  and  judicious 
divines  in  Europe,  before  the  reformation,  and  since,  will  show, 
beyond  all  dispute,  that  the  above  statement  of  the  doctrine  of 
original  sin  has  never  been  the  general  or  prevailing  opinion  of 
the  Christian  church. 

Yet  you  shall  hear  it  inculcated  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  in 
many  of  our  churches,  and  swallowed  down,  as  a  sweet  morsel, 
by  many  a  gaping  mouth,  that  a  man  ought  to  feel  himself  actu- 
ally guilty  of  a  sin  committed  six  thousands  years  before  he  was 
born ;  nay,  that,  prior  to  all  consideration  of  his  own  moral  con- 
duct, he  ought  to  feel  himself  deserving  of  eternal  damnation  for 
the  first  sin  of  Adam,  1  hesitate  not  to  say,  that  no  scheme  of 
religion  ever  propagated  amongst  men  contains  a  more  mon- 
strous, a  more  horrible  tenet.  The  atrocity  of  this  doctrine  is 
beyond  comparison.  The  visions  of  the  Koran,  the  fictions  of 
the  Sadder,  the  fables  of  the  Zendavesta,  all  give  place  to  this  : — 
Rabbinical   legends,  Brahminical   vagaries   all   vanish   before   it. 

The  idea,  that  all  the  numerous  millions  of  Adam's  posterity 
deserve  the  ineffable  and  endless  torments  of  hell,  for  a  single 
act  of  his,  before  any  one  of  them  existed,  is  repugnant  to  that 
reason  which  God  has  given  us,  is  subversive  of  all  possible  con- 
ceptions of  justice.  No  such  doctrine  is  taught  in  the  scriptures, 
or  can  impose  itself  on  any  rational  mind,  which  is  not  trammel- 
ed by  education,  dazzled  by  interest,  warped  by  prejudice,  and 
bewildered  by  theory. — This  is  one  corner  of  the  triangle  above 
mentioned. 

This  doctrine  perpetually  urged,  and  the  subsequent  strain  of 
teaching  usually  attached  to  it,  will  not  fail  to  drive  the  incau- 
tious mind  to  secret  and  practical,  or  open  infidelity.  An  at- 
tempt to  force  such  monstrous  absurdities  on  the  human  under- 
standing, will  be  followed  by  the  worst  effects.  A  mamwho  finds 
himself  condemned  for  that  of  which  he  is  not  guilty,  will  feel 
little  regret  for  his  real  transgressions. 

I  shall  not  apply  these  remarks  to  the  pin-pose  I  had  in  view, 

tfll  I  have  considered  some  other  points  of  a  similar  character  ;— 

or,  if  1  may  resort  to  the  metaphor  alluded  to,   till  I  have  pointed 

out  the  other  two  angles  of  the  triangle. 

INVESTIGATOR. 
2 


14 


No.  II. 


Whether  it  may  be  termed  a  disposition,  or  passion,  or  call- 
ed by  any  other  name,  there  is  something  in  some  men  which 
may  be  denominated  an  humble  pride.  I  fear,  could  it  be  ana- 
lyzed, it  would  not  be  found  to  want  any  of  the  most  virulent 
qualities  of  the  true  and  old-fashioned  pride,  known  in  the  worL 
ever  since  the  fall  of  man,  and  which,  indeed,  threw  a  morning 
star  from  heaven,  before  it  inflamed  man  to  rebellion.  It  seems 
to  be  the  pride  of  the  gentlemen  alluded  to  in  the  preceding 
number,  to  plunge  down  human  nature  as  low  as  possible.  They 
are  by  no  means  satisfied  w^ith  laying  the  whole  human  race  un- 
der the  ban  of  eternal  damnation,  for  an  act  which  was  commit- 
ted before  any  of  them  existed ; — they  go  much  farther.  And 
this  brings  me  to  the  second  angle  of  the  true  diagram  of  their 
scheme. 

They  teach,  and  strenulously  insist,  that  all  men  labor  under  a 
true  and  physical  incapacity  to  do  any  thing  which  God  requires. 
To  this  total  and  universal  inability  they  deny  all  figurative  or 
metaphysical  import,  and  contend  that  men  are  as  truly,  and  in 
the  same  sense,  unable  to  obey  the  law  of  God  as  they  are  to 
overturn  the  Andes,  or  drahi  the  ocean.  What  do  we  hear  next  ? 
They  turn  immediately  round,  and  exhort  their  hearers,  with 
great  pathos,  to  do  every  thing  which  God  requires,  and  de- 
nounce their  disobedience  as  meriting  eternal  damnation.  Nay, 
this  inability  and  thraldom,  in  its  whole  extent,  they  carry  back 
to  the  original  fountain  of  their  guilt  and  condemnation,  and  say 
that  it  was  all  done  in  Adam  ; — that  all  the  human  race  were 
made  guilty,  and  were  wholly  incapacitated  to  do  any  good  act, 
in  their  first  father.  Nevertheless,  they  go  on  with  mighty 
eloquence  to  exhort  them  to  do  every  duty. 

Had  I  not  already  said  that  their  notion  of  original  sin  con- 
tained  the  most  monstrous  error  ever  advanced  in  any  scheme 
of  religion,  I  should  be  tempted  to  say  the  same  of  this.  But  I 
will  venture  to  say  I  think  them  both  iufinitely  distant  from  the 
truth.  But,  says  the  advocate  of  these  truly  tremendous  and  de- 
testable tenets,  "  This  is  Calvinism  ;  and  dare  you  dispute  Cal- 


15 

viN  r  To  which  I  reply,  If  Calvm  believed  in  these  doeirines, 
which  we  deny,  he  must  have  derived  his  light  therein,  for  aught 
I  know,  from  the  flames  of  Servetus  ;  indeed,  they  more  resem- 
ble the  light  of  infernal  than  celestial  fire. 

This  doctrine  of  man's  inability  is  an  insult  to  every  man's 
unbiassed  understanding — to  the  light  of  his  conscience.  It  is 
contrary  to  the  whole  current  of  the  sacred  scriptures  :  and,  in- 
deed, its  warmest  advocates  are  tempted  to  contradict  themselves 
every  moment  ;  and  when  they  preach  best,  this  temptation  is 
effectual  ;  or,  to  say  the  least,  their  contradictions  are  seldom 
farther  apart  than  the  improvement  from  the  sermon.  Their 
preaching  often  reminds  me  of  the  mode  of  writing  used  by  some 
ancient  nations,  which  was  from  left  to  right,  and  from  right  to 
left,  alternately  crossing  the  page  in  opposite  directions. 

These  gentlemen,  however,  might  be  laid  off  into  different 
sections.  Some  of  them,  aware  of  the  inconsistency,  frankly  own 
that  wicked  men  are  under  no  obligation  to  love  or  obey  God  : 
and  thus,  for  the  sake  of  theory  and  system,  plunge  still  deeper 
in  error.  Others  boldly  deny  all  moral  agency  to  mankind  ; — 
others  again  contend  that  men  are  moral  agents  to  do  wrong,  but 
not  to  do  right  ;  evincing  still  more  ignorance  of  the  philosophy 
of  the  human  mind  than  of  the  word  of  God. 

Is  it  wonderful  that  there  should  be  so  many  Gallios  in  this 
city  ?  That  so  many  should  with  scornful  smile  turn  from  this 
monstrous  jargon,  and  cry  out,  "  Wretched  mysticism  ! — rid- 
dles ! — contradictions  ! — What,  was  I  rendered,  by  Adam's  first 
act  of  sin,  a  criminal  deserving  endless  torments?  Was  I,  at  the 
same  time,  totally  incapacitated  to  yield  obedience  to  the  Al- 
mighty ruler  ?  Was  I  bound  hand  and  foot  six  thousand  years 
ago,  and  rocks  of  adamant  laid  on  the  seal  of  my  eternal  perdition? 
Impossible  !  The  glorious  volume  of  nature  itself  contradicts  all 
this,  and  shows  me  a  far  different  character  of  my  Creator  and 
Preserver." 

INVESTIGATOR. 


16 


No.  III. 


We  come  to  the  third  and  last  great  point  of  their  system  of 
theology,  which  makes  out  the  triangle,  from  which,  as  I  said, 
they  do  not  depart.  They  tell  you  there  is  a  remedy  for  a  part 
of  mankind  ;  Christ  has  died  for  an  elect  number.  They,  and 
they  only,  enjoy  an  offer  of  salvation  ;  and  for  them  alone  is  pro- 
vision made.  On  the  contrary,  they  plumply  deny  that  ''  Christ 
has  tasted  death  for  every  man  ;'*''  they  will  by  no  means  allow 
that  "  He  is  a  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world;''''  they 
abhor  the  idea  of  going  "  irito  all  the  world  and  'preaching  the 
gospel  to  every  creature.''''  They  would  tell  you,  that  if  they  could 
distinguish  who  the  elect  are,  in  their  assemblies,  they  should 
preach  the  gospel  only  to  them  ;  they  should  tell  them  that  Christ 
died  only  for  them  :  but,  as  for  the  rest,  they  should  preach  no- 
thing but  the  certainty  of  eternal  damnation. 

Nor  does  this,  though  it  gives  the  lines  of  the  triangle,  display 
the  worst  features  of  their  scheme.  They  go  on  to  state,  that 
even  the  elect  are  not  bound  to  believe  in  the  Saviour,  cr  to  love 
and  obey  him,  till  he  has  convinced  them,  in  a  supernatural  way, 
that  he  died  for  them.  Thus,  to  the  grossest  error  in  doctrine 
adding  the  basest  selfishness  in  heart  and  practice.  Nothing  of- 
fends them  so  deeply  as  the  assertion,  that  the  perfection  and 
glory  of  the  Saviour  are  the  highest  motives  of  love  and  obe- 
dience to  him.  Yet,  as  for  the  non-elect,  they  assure  them,  that 
their  condemnation  will  be  vastly  aggravated  for  rejecting  sal- 
vation by  Christ. 

The  whole  of  their  doctrine,  then,  amounts  to  this,  that  a  man 
is,  in  the  first  place,  condemned,  incapacitated,  and  eternally  re- 
probated for  the  sin  of  Adam  :  in  the  next  place,  that  he  is  con- 
demned over  again,  for  not  doing  that  which  he  is  totally,  in  all 
respects,  unable  to  do  •,  and,  in  the  third  place,  that  he  is  con- 
demned, and  doubly  and  trebly  condemned,  for  not  believing  in 
a  Saviour,  who  never  died  for  him,  and  with  whom  he  has  no 
more  to  do  than  a  fallen  angel. 


17 

This  is  what  I  call  strong  meat,  and  the  stomach  which  can 
digest  such  food,  can,  I  should  think,  digest  iron  and  adamant. 
The  natural  and  necessary  deductions  from  these  leading  tenets, 
their  various  ramifications  and  subordinate  collateral  branches, 
exert  a  deep  influence,  and  diffuse  an  alarming  complexion  over 
the  whole  plan  of  revelation.  These  teachers  have  turned  their 
faces  towards  the  ages  of  darkness,  and  are  travelling  back  with 
rapid  strides  to  the  jargon  of  schoolmen,  and  the  reveries  and 
superstitions  of  Monks.  Were  a  painter  to  draw  an  emblem  of 
their  plan,  you  would  see  the  distorted  phiz,  squinting  eye,  and* 
haggard  features  of  perfect  selfishness,  mounted  on  the  huge, 
inflated,  and  putrescent  carcass  of  Antinomianism. 

Whether  they  admit  or  deny  the  doctrine  of  moral  agency 
their  crude  notions  of  that,  and  other  things  correlative,  amount 
to  an  absolute  and  universal  virtual  denial  of  it :  of  course,  thek 
scheme  embraces  the  strongest  and  most  odious  features  of  fa- 
talism, or,  rather  that  men  are  mere  machines,  dead  as  inorganic 
matter.  They  have  no  notion  of  moral  virtue  as  an  exercise  of 
the  human  mind  ;  they  even  wish  that  phrase  expunged  from 
our  language.  Of  course,  their  sermons  generally  lie  within  the 
narrow  limits  already  marked  out;  which  they  are  pleased  to 
style,  preaching  Christ. 

To  this  it  is  proper  to  add,  that  they  are  tenacious  of  their 
own  opinions,  and  intolerant  of  those  of  others  in  no  ordinary 
degree.  I  shall  justify  this  remark,  by  simply  adverting  to  the 
recent  expulsion  of  a  young  man,  of  unblemished  character 
and  respectable  talents,  from  a  theological  seminary  in  this 
city.  I  cannot  but  notice,  as  an  extraordinary  coincidence,  that 
the  very  man  who  expelled  him  has,  at  this  time,  come  out  and 
astonished  the  world  by  a  pompous  and  flaming  production  in 
favour  of  general  communion,  Catholicism,  and  Christian  charity. 
I  wish  he  would  inform  the  world  whether  he  intends  they  shall 
follow  his  hook,  or  his  example.  I  cannot  express  what  gratitude 
I  feel  to  Providence,  that  though  Bonner  and  Gardiner  should 
revive,  they  would  not  find,  in  this  country,  a  goverment  ready 
to  second  their  intolerance  by  the  flames  of  persecution.  The 
tiger  may  show  his  teeth  and  growl,  but  he  cannot  bite. 

INVESTIGATOR. 

2* 


18 

No.  IV. 

With  no  design  to  exaggerate  or  colour  too  highly,  I  have,  in 
the  preceding  numbers,  given  a  sketch  of  the  incessant  strain  of 
preaching  pursued  in  many  congregations  of  this  city.  I  have 
not  misrepresented,  neither  have  I  withheld  the  truth.  As  I  said, 
I  have  no  controversy  with  any  man :  and  am  willing  to  give  full 
credit  to  the  learning  and  talents  of  many  who  teach  these  doc- 
trines. Indeed,  I  have  a  charitable  hope  that  some  of  them 
imagine  they  are  labouring  in  the  cause  of  truth.  But  truth  will 
one  day  instruct  them  that,  as  *'  they  have  sown  the  wind  they 
shall  reap  the  whirlwind." 

I  will  not  undertake  to  say  that  all  the  vices  of  the  city  are 
chargeable  to  the  account  of  their  errors  ;  far  from  it ;  but  I  will 
undertake  to  say  that  their  doctrines  are  calculated,  and  tend, 
to  drive  men  to  skepticism,  deism,  atheism,  libertinism  ;  nay,  to 
madness.  The  rash  and  unwary  man  that  enters  their  assembly 
is  amazed  to  hear  his  assent  challenged  to  propositions  from 
which  his  understanding  revolts  with  horror :  assertions  are  ar- 
rogantly, as  it  were,  crammed  down  his  throat,  which  insult  his 
reason.  He  is  told  he  can  do  nothing,  yet  threatened  with  end- 
less perdhion  for  his  neglect.  He  is  condemned  for  a  sin  he  never 
committed;  commanded  to  do  what  he  is  told  he  cannot  do; 
and  exhorted  to  believe  in  a  Saviour  -who  never  died  for  him. 

The  muddiness,  the  confusion,  the  arrogance  with  which  these 
sentiments  are  hurled  forth  in  a  storm  of  popular  eloquence,  or 
shall  I  say  vociferation,  precludes  all  possibility  of  conviction. 
One  man  sits  and  hears  it  wdth  that  kind  of  stupid  amazement 
with  which  we  hear  a  hail  sform  rattling  upon  the  roof,  and 
thunder  rolling  over  our  heads,  till  he  is  stunned  into  a  kind  of 
thoughtless  reverie,  and  gathers  as  much  from  it  as  Cushi  did 
from  the  defeat  of  Absalom  ;  "  I  saw  a  great  tumult,  my  lord,  O 
king,  but  knew  not  what  it  was."  Another  hears  it  with  con- 
tempt and  secret  indignation,  and  as  he  retires,  musing  says  to 
himself,  "  are  these  the  boasted  principles  and  doctrines  of  reli- 
gion, said  to  be  so  luminous,  so  simple,  so  rational,  so  intelligible 
so  convincing?"  But  these  teachers  will  tell  him,  for  his  consola- 


19 

tion,  "  No  wonder  you  don't  understand  these  truths,  for  they 
are  evangelical  truths,  and  you  are  a  natvral  man  ;  therefore  you 
cannot  understand  them."  Wretched  subterfuge  !  As  wise  and 
as  profound  as  if  a  man  should  say  to  me  that  "  two  and  two  are 
fifteen,  and  it  is  only  because  you  want  mathematical  skill  that 
vou  can't  perceive  it."  Alas  !  what  huge  masses  of  flummer)^, 
falsehood,  false  doctrine  ;  what  immense  cargoes  of  wood,  hay, 
and  stubble,  the  lumber  and  trash  of  speculation  and  fanaticism, 
are  vended  as  evangelical  truth,  which  the  natural  man  cannot 
understand  ! 

These  teachers  are  often  heard  to  bewail  the  departure  of  Bos- 
ton from  the  faith  ;  and  I  will  not  deny  that  there  is  much,  very 
much,  in  Boston,  to  be  lamented,  on  the  ground  of  the  decay  of 
morals  and  sound  principles  ;  but  this  I  say  and  predict,  as  the 
fate  of  this  city,  should  the  masses  of  people  increase,  who  are 
the  followers,  catechumens,  admirers,  and  bearers  of  these  teach- 
ers, and  I  perceive  the  ichneumon  of  ambition  to  have  smitten 
these  gentlemen  with  fangs  of  no  ordinary  venom,  for  they  aim 
to  be  the  head  and  not  the  taiU  the  following  consequences  may 
be  expected  : 

1.  The  strain  of  preaching  will  abound  more  with  empty  de, 
clamation,  and  less  with  good  sense  :  for,  even  now,  every  young 
man  that  issues  from  their  school  "  out  Herods  Herod ;''"'  bold  as- 
sertions will  take  the  place  of  arguments  ;  and  authority,  that  of 
evidence :  confusion  and  obscurity  will  be  gazed  at,  with  awful 
solemnity,  as  the  profound  of  heavenly  wisdom,  and  a  set  of  cant 
phrases  consecrated  as  the  true  language  of  Zion. 

2.  The  churches,  even  the  special  flock  of  these  teachers — 
the  most  pious  and  discriminating  among  them,  will  not  be  in- 
structed, indoctrinated,  or  well  informed,  for  they  will  not  have 
the  means  of  information,  being  taught  to  regard  sound  reason- 
ing asworldly  wisdom,  just  distinctions  as  metaphysical  poison, 
and  the  dogmas  of  their  teachers  as  spiritual  truth. 

3.  The  great  mass  of  their  congregations  will  throng  their 
churches  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  with  a  perfectly  vacant  cu- 
riosity, some  to  hear  elequence,  as  they  go  to  hear  Cooper  at 
the  theatre,  not  caring  what  he  says :  some  to  see  fashions — to 
meet   company  ; — very  innocently  believing  because   so  taught, 


20 

that  religion  is  a  matter  nowise  connected  with  man's  intel- 
lectual and  moral  powers,  they  will  hear  with  calm  indifference 
every  thing  as  it  comes ;  the  anomalous  monsters  of  the  doc- 
trine will  float  through  their  imaginations  as  things  of  course,  or 
as  an  April  shadow  over  a  hill :  the  awful  themes  of  guilt,  siuy 
and  damnation,  reverberate  from  their  ears  as  from  the  cold  and 
deaf  walls  ;  and  if  they  take  the  least  notice  of  what  is  said,  it 
will  be  only  to  say,  "  Very  well,  I  can't  help  it." 

4.  From  these  immense  beds  of  mental  inaction,  and  moral 
deformity,  will  spring  a  race  of  "  serpents,"  which  empty  decla- 
mation cannot  frighten,  and  a  reason  totally  blind  cannot  pursue 
or  parry.  In  a  city  like  this,  there  are  great  numbers  of  youth 
of  elevated  minds,  quick  conceptions,  strong  passions,  and  libe- 
ral education.  They  know  that  reason  was  not  given  to  man  to 
be  trammelled  with  absurdities,  and  trampled  in  the  dust.  They 
will  turn  indignant  from  these  "  strange  doctrines,  and  will 
prefer  rather  to  follow  the  light  of  nature :"  or,  perhaps,  they 
will  say,  ''  If  these  doctrines  be  irue,  my  condition  cannot  be 
worse  than  it  is  ;  and  at  any  rate,  I  cannot  make  it  any  better  by 
my  exertions.     Let  me  then  enjoy  pleasure  while  I  can." 

These  doctrines  have  already  produced  such  reasonings,  and 
such  resolutions.  They  have  already  taken  deep  root,  and  shot 
up  into  an  enormous  growth  ;  and  while  these  teachers  are  look- 
ing abroad  to  other  cities  with  proud  comparison,  and  self-ap- 
plauding pity,  they  have  around  them,  and  near  them,  in  their 
congregations,  I  will  not  say  in  their  churches,  a  myriad  of  unbe- 
lievers of  their  own  forming.  They  are  converts  in  termsy  but 
infidels  in  fact.  They  assent  with  wonderful  facility  to  all  they 
hear.  "  O  yes  !  it  is  all  very  true."  And  then,  in  the  secret  coun- 
sels of  their  own  hearts,  they  are  behind  a  screen  at  all  points. 
They  look  on  the  deluge  or  the  rainbow  with  equal  eye.  They 
hear  the  thunders  of  the  law,  or  the  accents  of  mercy,  with  equal 
feeling  and  temper.  They  are  fortified  with  boldness,  armed  with 
pride,  seasoned  with  selfishness.  Talk  to  them  about  the  guilt 
of  sin ;  they  throw  it  all  back  on  Adam :  about  duty  to  (rod ; 
they  say,  *'  I  cannot  perform  it  ;  and  you  teach  me  so."  Allude 
to  a  Saviour,  they  reply,  "  Perhaps  he  did  not  die  for  me,  and  if 
so,  there  is  no  provision,  even  if  I  should  believe  ;    besides,  you 


21 

allow,  and  you  teach,  that  I  am  under  no  obligation  to  believe, 
till  the  Saviour  shows  me  that  I  am  one  of  his.  But  if  I  am, 
in  reality,  one  of  his,  he  will  in  his  own  time  and  way,  show 
me  that  I  am  such.     Therefore,  I  am  at  rest. 

Streams  of  error,  however  specious,  however  popular,  con- 
tinually pouring  through  a  mass  of  population,  will  produce 
effects.  Like  a  river  whose  deep  and  rapid  waters  eat  and  un- 
dermine its  banks,  they  threaten  extensive  and  inevitable  de- 
struction. If  the  lapse  of  years  shall  not  shew,  that  the  aggre- 
gate of  people,  who  have  steadily  heard  these  doctrines,  have 
become  irreligious,  profligate,  and  abandoned ;  if  successive  ge- 
nerations of  youth  who  shall  arise  under  such  moral  and  intel- 
lectual culture,  do  not  grow  up  progressively  ignorant,  disso- 
lute, and  profane,  I  shall  rejoice  to  have  it  appear  that  my  fore- 
bodings were  groundless.  But  as  I  am  fully  aware  that  the  di- 
vine blessing  is  necessary  to  render  even  the  truth  successful,  I 
am  equally  sure  that  the  God  of  truth  does  not  crown  with  his 
blessing  the  ministration  of  error. 

5.  Religion  itself,  when  it  has  the  misfortune  to  spring  up,  or 
by  any  means  be  placed  under  this  regimen,  will  not  fail  to  wear 
an  aspect  sickly  and  repulsive  ;  it  is  an  exotic  in  these  soils,  and 
will  resemble  a  fair  plant  brought  from  the  genial  climes  of  sum- 
mer, to  pine  beneath  the  northern  blast,  or  be  smothered  in  the 
gaseous  fumes  of  a  hot-house.  Error,  even  the  abstract  doctrines 
and  speculations  of  theology,  exerts  a  direct  influence  on  a  man's 
conduct ;  and  there  are  few  common  maxims  more  false  or  per- 
nicious than  that  if  a  man  acts  right  it  is  no  matter  what  his  spe- 
culative notions  are.  Show  me  a  strenuous  believer  in  the  doc- 
trine of  original  sin,  as  above  stated,  and  I  will  show  you  a  man 
who,  generally  speaking,  feels  no  very  acute  sense  of  the  deme- 
rit of  sin.  He  views  it  as  a  kind  of  inevitable  constitution  of 
things,  which  must,  indeed,  be  just,  because  God  is  just ;  he 
views  it  as  a  kind  of  grand  mysterious  artifice,  to  the  bottom  of 
which  he  cannot  see  ;  as  a  kind  of  technica  theologica,  which 
never  did,  and  never  will,  give  any  human  soul  any  very  pun- 
gent feelings.  When  he  contemplates  Adam's  act,  he  does  not 
feel  like  the  murderer,  who,  while  he  washes  his  hands,  fancies 
he  sees  the  crimson  stain    return.     The  idea  o^  guilt  transferred 


22 

does  not  wither  and  blast  the  soul  of  the  criminal  like  that  of 
actual  transgression. 

Again ;  the  man  who  believes  in  a  fatal  natural  incapacity  to 
obey  God,  derived  even  from  the  first  progenitor  of  men,  must 
view  it  with  the  same  tone  of  feeling  as  he  views  transferred 
guilt.  He  did  not  choose  the  condition  in  which  to  be  born, 
and  cannot  feel  himself  in  any  way  accountable  for  it.  He  may, 
indeeed,  consider  it  as  a  very  bad  condition,  but  then  he  had  no 
hand  in  it,  and  can  feel  no  blame  for  it,  any  more  than  a  man 
can  feel  blameworthy  because  he  was  born  in  Europe  and  not 
in  America.  In  a  word,  he  views  it  in  the  same  mysterious,  the 
same  technical  light  he  does  the  doctrine  before  mentioned : 
and  whatever  he  may  pretend,  his  own  heart  will  secretly  say 
to  him,  "  What  I  cannot  do,  I  cannot,  and  why  should  I  give 
myself  unavailing  trouble  concerning  it  ?"  ' 

Again  ;  this  Christian  believes  that  Christ  died  for  him,  on 
which  account,  he  thinks  he  loves  him  very  much.  Well,  and 
what  certain  evidence  of  goodness  is  there  in  all  this  %  "  Do  not 
even  sinners  love  those  that  love  them  V  Is  it  a  high  evidence 
of  a  man's  piety,  that  he  feels  grateful  to  any  one  who  has  done 
him  a  great  favour  ? — Surely  not.  But  to  maintain  their  ground 
here,  they  are  pushed  forward  to  say  that  there  is,  in  fact,  no 
such  thing  as  disinterested  love.  They  even  endeavour  to 
throw  ridicule  upon  the  phrase,  as  without  meaning — a  phrase 
as  old  as  our  language,  and  conveying  an  idea  as  old  as  religion 
itself.  But,  for  this,  they  have  a  very  obvious  motive  ;  because 
it  presents  a  sword,  if  I  may  so  say,  to  the  very  bosom  and  heart 
of  tlieir  scheme.  But  there  is  another  term  which  worries 
them  still  more  than  this,  and  that  is  selfishness — they  cannot 
bear  it ;  they  wince  under  it,  and  would  fain  endeavour  to  ex- 
punge that  also  from  our  language.  To  use  a  low  comparison, 
it  offends  them  as  deeply  as  it  did  the  tailor,  in  the  old  story,  to 
hear  the  name  of  cracklouse.  "  So  saying,  thou  reproachest 
us  also."  They  seem  to  feel  that  their  scheme  is  a  selfish  one. 
And  if,  in  fact,  to  make  our  own  interest  and  happiness  the  highest 
and  ruling  motive  of  our  conduct,  may  be  termed  selfishness,  their 
scheme  of  religion  is  purely  selfish. 

And  while  I  cast  no  personal  reflections,  I  do   not  hesitate  to 


say,  that  men  ardently  attached  to  these  speculative  notions, 
have  never  been  found  to  be  remarkably  benevolent  in  their  con- 
duct. They  are  accused  of  sourness,  bigotry,  narrowness.  I 
appeal  to  the  eye  of  the  public.  Let  every  man  judge  for  him- 
self. There  are  certainly  exceptions  to  this  remark :  but  even 
numerous  and  splendid  exceptions  cannot  impair  a  general  rule. 

Let  the  word  selfishness  be  expunged  from  our  language,  be- 
cause certain  religious  sectarians  avow  it  to  be  right,  yet  do  not 
relish  the  term  on  account  of  a  popular  odium  attached  to  it : — 
expunge  also  the  word  disinterested,  partly  because  an  un- 
meaning term,  though  Addison,  Johnson,  Watts,  Tillotson,  and 
Baxter,  knew  its  meaning  well,  and  thought  it  important  and  ap- 
propriate, when  applied  to  certain  actions  :  and  partly  because,  if 
it  mean  any  thing,  its  meaning  is  far  too  pure  and  lofty  to  be  ap- 
plied to  fallen  man : — expunge  also  the  term  virtue,  because  they 
say  there  is  no  such  thing  in  either  saints  or  sinners,  and  you  will 
avoid  much  cause  of  offence  to  the  advocates  of  these  doctrines. 
But  when  you  find  a  man  avowedly  selfish,  never  disinterested, 
and  never  virtuous,  what  sort  of  a  man  will  he  be  ?  I  answer,  in 
religion  he  will  be  an  Essene ; — full  of  contemplation — high 
frames — heated  zeal — lofty  conceits — great  confidence — and 
much  holier  than  others  ; — but  he  is  as  soon  cold  as  hot.  In  the 
world,  and  in  business,  he  is  steady  to  his  text ; — selfish — never 
disinterested — and  not  remarkably  virtuous.  Yes,  he  vibrates 
rapidly  from  the  ardours  of  Vesuvius,  to  the  chill  of  Greenland — 
burning  or  freezing  whatever  he  touches.  This  is  what  I  call  an 
Antinomian. 

The  question  is,  how  a  religion  of  this  complexion  will  affect 
the  character,  morals,  and  future  welfare  of  this  great  city.  A 
question  of  a  moment ; — a  question  in  which  religious  teachers 
have  some  concern,  since  they  are  answerable  for  its  effects. 
Foster  has  shown,  in  his  Essay  on  that  subject,  why  men  of  taste 
and  learning  are  often  found  to  despise  religion.  He  says,  it  is 
because  it  is  frequently  obtruded  upon  their  attention  in  a  garb 
unsuitable  to  its  character  :  and,  I  say,  oftener  because  its  lovely 
features  are  distorted — its  glorious  doctrines  perverted — though, 
oftener  still,  because  they  are  unfriendly  to  the  carnal  mind.  If 
the  officers  sent  to  apprehend  our  Saviour,  when  they  heard  him, 


24 

cried  out,  "  Never  man  spake  like  this  man !" — the  man  of  taste 
and  learning,  who  hears  these  doctrines,  will  cry  out  in  a  similar 
manner,  but  with  a  different  import. 

Alas  !  I  foresee  the  effects  of  the  scheme  ;  and  I  remark,  in  the 
last  place, 

6.  If  its  most  pious  and  devout  followers  derive  from  it  an  as- 
pect unlovely  and  repulsive — if  it  obscure  the  beauties  of  reli- 
gion, It  will  surely  present  no  barrier  to  vice  : — if  it  deform  the 
noblest  system  of  truth  ever  presented  to  the  human  mind,  it 
will  no  less  facilitate  the  advancement  of  dangerous  errors,  with 
progressive  influence,  and  with  the  power  of  an  extended  lever. 
AVhen  Paul  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judg- 
ment, Felix  trembled.  There  is  a  power  in  gospel  truth  to  carry 
conviction  to  the  heart,  which  shall  influence  men's  conduct — 
which  shall  impose  at  least  a  partial  restraint,  though  the  work 
be  not  profound,  and  the  reformation  total  and  lasting.  But  it  is 
the  singular  infelicity  of  these  doctrines,  not  to  impose^  but  to  re- 
move  restraint ;  to  promote  pride,  and  not  humility : — it  is  not 
the  trumpet  of  alarm,  but  the  deadly  soporific  potion,  that  lulls  to 
security,  inaction,  and  repose.  Nothing  but  a  consciousness  of 
wilful  neglect  can  awaken  the  mind  to  a  sense  of  guilt : — nothing 
but  transgressions,  far  nearer  home  than  Adam,  points  the  soul  to 
the  dark  avenue  of  perdition. 

The  extent  and  prevalence  of  the  influences  of  these  doctrines, 
in  this  city,  is  a  proof  that  God  intends  to  scourge  it.  They  will 
not  produce  reformation.  They  will  not  stimulate  people  to  good 
works  ;  and  as  they  sweep  off  all  pretensions  to  moral  virtue  at 
one  blow — all  due  consciousness  of  guilt,  at  another — all  efforts 
to  obtain  salvation,  at  a  third — they  shut  the  book  of  God,  and 
substitute  for  its  dictates  the  expositions  of  a  set  of  men  who  un- 
blushingly  profess  to  be  selfish  and  interested  in  all  they  do. 

I  have  hitherto  taken  no  notice  of  the  ulterior  consequences 
of  these  tenets,  or  the  influence  they  will  exert  on  the  eternal  in- 
terests of  mankind.  I  have  considered  religious  institutions  as  a 
civil  or  poHtical  good.  In  this  light  I  am  concerned  to  perceive 
this  unwholesome  strain  of  public  instruction  gradually  under 
mining  the  main  pillars  of  moral,  consequently,  of  social  virtue, 

INVESTIGATOR. 


25 


No.  V. 


I  SAID  the  catechumens,  admirers,  and  special  flock  of  these 
teachers,  had  not  the  means  of  becoming  thoroughly  indoctri- 
nated in  the  various  subjects  of  revelation.  They  seldom  go  out 
of  the  triangle,  unless  it  be  by  some  of  those  fortunate  self  con- 
tradictions, in  which  they  unconsciously  stumble  into  the  field 
of  truth.     They   then  sometimes  speak   well  for  a  few  minutes. 

"  Purpureas  pannus  qui  splendeat  unus  et  alter." 

But  these  scattered,  splendid  patches,  are  not  shades  which 
heighten  the  beauties  of  a  picture,  but  accidental  lights  which 
discover  the  terrors  of  a  dungeon.  There  is  another  privation 
far  more  to  be  lamented  than  this.  The  throngs  of  people  who 
statedly  attend  their  instructions  are  carefully  prevented  from 
imbibing  any  different  system.  Even  in  this  land  of  liberty  and 
free  discussion,  it  is  incredible  with  what  success  these  practices 
are  attempted.  The  people,  for  the  most  part,  are  persuaded, 
every  man,  to  put  on  his  own  bandage  about  his  eyes  and  ears. 
Those  who  would  not  readily  do  that,  are  effectually  cut  off  from 
all  access  to  light  by  other  means.  The  bustle,  business,  and  hurry 
of  a  great  city  prevents  thousands  from  taking  time  for  much 
inquiry.  As  to  books,  they  are  good  or  bad,  at  once,  according  to 
the  ipse  dixit  of  Dr.  Buckrum,  for  who  is  so  good  a  judge  as  he  ? — 
As  to  preaching,  every  preacher  is  eventually  excluded  from 
their  pulpits,  unless  he  is  known  to  be  a  faithful  disciple  of  their 
scheme  ;  i.  e.  triangular — and  their  people  are  most  assiduously 
dissuaded  from  going  to  other  churches,  even  occasionally.  If 
any  one,  who  has  by  chance  ascended  one  of  their  desks,  hap- 
pens to  strike  on  a  string  which  does  not  vibrate  in  unison  with 
theirs,  they  are  offended — they  clamour,  censure,  inveigh  ;  he  is 
accused  of  gross  indelicacy,  and  high  presumption.  But,  as  for 
them,  they  never  quit  their  triangle,  preach  where  they  will,  or 
when  they  may ;  nor  do  they  fail  to  call  to  their  aid  whatever 
they  can  command  of  argument,  satire,  or  ridicule. 

I  hope  I  shall  not  be  thought  censorious,  but,  however  that 
3 


26 

may  be,  I  shall  not  refrain  from  the  truth,  which  is  unchangeable 
and  immortal.  These  gentlemen,  in  manceuvring,  occasionally 
display  two  sets  of  colours.  There  needs  no  greater  proof  of  this 
than  the  book  before  alluded  to,  on  "  general  communion.''''  Had 
the  author's  pen  been  plucked  from  the  wings  of  the  graces,  and 
dipped  in  the  colours  of  the  rainbow  : — had  the  leaves  of  his  book 
been  composed  of  the  flowers,  and  perfumed  with  the  dews  of 
Paradise,  it  could  not  have  been  a  more  charitable,  loving,  bland 
production.  But  is  the  man  always  so  l  Was  he  so  when  he  ex- 
pelled Mr.  B from  his  seminary  i 

Who  does  he  expect  to  allure  to  his  arms  by  this  gentle  warbling 
on  the  soft  tones  of  love  and  union  }  Surely,  none  of  the  mighty 
multitude  of  Christians  composing  three-fourths  of  that  profes- 
sion in  the  United  States  ;  for  he  has  cut  them  all  asunder  by  one 
expulsion.  Had  they  but  one  neck,  he  would  serve  them  as 
Nero  wished  to  serve  the  Romans,  i.  e.  in  an  ecclesiastical  sense. 
He  has  put  them  all  into  the  "  snare  of  the  Devil,"  and  declared 
them  not  to  be  endured,  no,  not  for  an  hour.  His  book  re- 
minds me  of  the  fabled  songs  of  the  Syrens  : — but  I  suspect  few 
will  approach  the  rocks,  for  many  know  the  voice. 

These  gentlemen,  at  certain  times,  and  when  in  certain  com- 
panies, have  been  heard  to  say,  that  "  These  differences  of  opi- 
nion about  doctrines  are  more  in  words  than  ideas ;  that  they 
are  of  small  moment — ought  not  to  interrupt  the  harmony  of 
Christians — that,  after  all,  we  all  think  essentially  alike,"  &;c. — 
But,  at  other  times,  they  speak  a  far  different  language  :  they  cry 
out,  "  delusion  ! — heresy  ! — blasphemy !"  And  this  is  what  I 
call  two  sets  of  colours,  to  be  used  as  occasion  may  serve. 

But  their  most  terrible  argument,  and  which  they  keep  always 
at  hand,  ready  to  dispense  to  weak  and  credulous  people,  is  wor- 
thy of  particular  attention.  When  any  one  attacks  their  scheme, 
they  immediately  exclaim,  "  That  man  is  not  a  Calvinist."  As 
though  Calvin  and  Christ  stood  on  equal  footing.  This  argu- 
ment is  intended  to  strike  their  adversaries  dumb,  and  carry  the 
world  before  it.  The  Mahometans  seem  to  prefer  Mahomet  to 
Christ  because  he  was  nearer  their  own  times  :  this  may  not  be 
the  case  with  those  humble  devotees  to  Calvin :  but  they  regard 


27 

his  authority  as  supreme  and  paramount.  I  am  sorry  to  add, 
that,  in  this  respect,  there  seem  to  be  several  little  microscopic 
Calvins  about  this  city,  growing  fast  in  strength  and  stature. 

Could  the  decline  of  the  Christian  church  be  traced  to  its  real 
causes  ;  could  the  seeds  of  those  fatal  errors,  the  germ  of  those 
deep  apostacies  be  discovered,  which  have  spread  ruin  and  dark- 
ness through  Christendom,  they  would  appear  to  lie  in  this,  viz. 
a  substitution  of  the  authority  of  men  for  the  word  of  God. 
Their  language  is,  "  that  is,  indeed,  the  word  of  God,  but  /  am 
its  expositor,  and  you  must  follow  my  expositions."  Hence  have 
originated  creeds,  formularies,  liturgies,  confessions  of  faith, 
standards,  bulls.  But  this  is  not  the  end.  These  creeds  and 
standards  are  but  ink  and  paper.     They  must  have  an  expositor. 

One  is   at  hand. These   expositors    "  are    the  men, 

and  wdsdom  shall  die  with  them."  It  is  the  invariable  policy  of 
ambitious  men  to  keep  one  on  the  pinnacle  of  power  and  gran- 
deur. They  then  have  nothing  to  do  but  shove  and  clamber. 
But  these  men  are  far  from  doing  as  Calvin  did.  Calvin  rose 
by  his  own  energy  and  merit.  These  men  are  endeavouring  to 
ascend    the   slippery  steep  on    the  merits  and  favour  of  Calvin. 

It  is,  I  believe,  but  four  or  five  years  since  a  number  of  wise 
heads  were  laid  together  to  beat  down  and  crush  the  errors  of  a 
set  of  men  denominated  Hopkinsians,  who,  by  the  by,  follow 
Hopkins  about  as  much  as  I  wish  to  follow  Calvia.  What  me- 
thod did  they  take  ? — They  employed  a  catspaw  to  write  a  book 
entitled  The  Contrast.  In  the  solemn  trumpery  of  500  pages 
there  are  a  great  many  instances  called  up,  in  which  these  Hop- 
kinsians  are  said  to  differ  from  Calvin  ;  as  though  this  was  suffi- 
cient to  condemn  them.  But  in  order  to  affect  this  dreadful 
work,  this  writer,  or  his  masters  rather,  were  obliged  to  get 
both  Hopkins  and  Calvin  on  the  rack,  to  garble,  dissect,  distort, 
and  misrepresent,  many  passages,  in  the  most  huge  and  flagrant 
manner.  But  no  matter  ;  many  people  were  made  to  believe 
that  Hopkins  differed  from  Calvin  ;  and  that  was  sufficient.  If 
Calvin  believed  that  a  rat's  tail  was  five  inches  long,  and  Hop- 
kins asserted  it  was  seven,  it  was  abundant ;  "  the  Contrast'  was 
clearly  and  ably  made  out  ;  and  Hopkins  was  in  an  error,  though 
the  rat's  tail  had  never  been  measured. 


28 

But  I  shall  here  despatch  what  I  have  to  say  of  Calvin  in  a 
few  words  : — I  believe  in  many  doctrines,  perhaps  in  most,  taught 
by  Calvin,  but  not  in  all.  He  was  a  man  of  great  energy  of 
mind  and  decision  of  character,  and,  I  trust,  a  religious  man.  The 
haughtiness  and  acerbity  of  his  temper  1  dislike,  and,  as  an  ec- 
clesiastical pioneer  and  legislator,  he  more  resembled  Lycurgus 
than  Solon.  From  the  persecution  he  suffered,  one  might  have 
imagined  his  mind  would  have  been  blanched  from  such  foul 
stains  as  intolerance  and  persecution  ;  but  it  was  the  spirit  of 
the  age  in  which  he  lived ; — "  fuit  temporum  culpa  non  ejus." 
Could  Calvin  have  lived  a  century  ; — could  his  design  have  been 
ripened  into  action,  and  his  wishes  crowned  with  success,  he 
would  have  made  Geneva  the  head  of  the  Protestant  church,  and 
himself  the  head  of  Geneva.  If  in  this,  and  some  other  respects, 
he  resembled  Cromwell,  he  differed  from  him  in  that  he  was  a 
far  better,  more  upright  and  honest  man.  Less  bold  and  intrepid 
than  Luther,  less  amiable  and  benevolent  than  Melancthon,  he 
was  more  acute,  penetrating,  and  industrious  than  either,  and 
was   the    most   thorough,  severe,  and  independent    reformer  of 

the  three. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  VI. 

When  you  rouse  a  nest  of  prejudices,  especially  those  which 
are  fortified  by  interest  and  popularity,  you  may  be  assured  they 
will  sting  like  wasps  and  hornets:  nay,  they  would  often  "  sting 
their  victim  dead,"  had  they  power.  This  has  been  the  true 
source  of  religious  persecution.  Love  of  truth  never  raised  a 
persecution:  that  frightful  demon  *'is  made  of  sterner  stuff." 
It  springs  from  ambition — a  desire  to  govern  the  opinions  of 
others  ;  and  a  religious  ambition  is  by  far  the  worst,  the  most 
rancorous,  the  most  hateful  and  unreasonable  specimen  of  its 
kind  that  ever  infested  the  world;  it  is  a  direct  invasion  of 
the  rights   of  conscience — an  atrocious  and  infamous    invasion 


29 

of  the  rio-hts  of  God  and  man.  A  man  wishes  me  to  think  as  he 
does,  in  order  that  I  may  subserve  his  purposes  ;  not  considering 
that  1  have  the  same  right  to  my  opinions  that  he  has  to  his. 

For  example,  I  have  my  own  opinions  concerning  Original 
Sin,  Depravity,  and  Atonement.  Why  should  a  man  be  angry  at 
me  because  I  think  for  myself  on  these  subjects  ?  Why  should 
he,  when  he  meets  me  in  the  street,  cock  up  his  nose,  knit  his 
eyebrows,  shrug  his  shoulders,  look  askance,  and  ghde  by  me 
like  a  basalisk,  whose  very  silence  tells  me  how  much  venom  he 
has  got  in  his  bag  ?  I  should  not  define  these  traits  so  readily  and 
so  closely,  but  I  have  seen  them  so  often,  that  I  am  like  the  En- 
glish sculptor  who  has  visited  Italy,  and  of  course  takes  nothing 
from  the  descriptions  of  others.  It  is  not  merely  because  he  is 
a  nascent  microscopic  Calvin — or,  if  I  may  so  speak,  a  Calvini- 
culus,  and  therefore  wishes  me  to  think  like  his  great  master. 
No : — he  is  not  so  disinterested  as  all  that.  It  is  because  I  dare 
be  independent  enough  to  think  differently  from  him,  and,  there- 
fore, do  not  follow  in  his  train.  His  own  conscience  will  not 
allow  him,  for  a  moment,  to  harbour  the  idea  that  he  is  led  to  this 
conduct  from  the  love  of  truth.  The  love  of  truth  renders  men 
meek,  amiable,  and  candid — generous,  affectionate,  and  conde- 
scending. Besides,  who  is  to  be  the  judge  of  truth? — I  have 
the  same  right  to  judge  for  myself  that  he  has.  We  are  both 
equally  accountable  to  God  for  our  opinions. 

We  know  not  how  the  heavenly  bodies  move ;  yet  we  per- 
ceive their  motions  uniform,  grand,  and  beautiful.  The  consti- 
tution under  which  creatures  exist  in  this  world,  though  it  is 
mysterious,  yet  we  perceive  it  to  be  universal,  regular,  and  un- 
alterable. One  of  its  first  and  most  obvious  laws  is,  that  all 
creatures,  which  come  into  being  in  a  series  of  generations,  have 
power  to  propogate  that  series,  and  that  every  creature  shall 
produce  its  own  likeness.  Whatever  of  mystery  there  may  be 
in  this  constitution,  it  appears  upon  inspection  to  be  necessary, 
useful,  and  beautiful.  If  a  bramble  could  spring  from  the  grape, 
a  thorn  from  an  olive  tree  ; — if  a  dove  could  produce  a  serpent, 
or  a  lamb  could  spring  from  a  tiger,  all  order  and  harmony — 
all  security,  usefulness,  and  beauty,  would  fall  sacrifices  to  uni- 
versal disappointment,  confusion,  deformity,  and  misery. 
3* 


30 

Man,  though  the  noblest  of  terrestrial  creatures,  by  the  sove- 
reign constitution  of  his  Maker,  exists  under  this  general  law  : — 
and  it  is  admitted  and  believed,  that,  had  our  first  parents  re- 
mained in  a  state  of  rectitude,  they  would  have  continued  happy 
and  immortal ;  and  that  all  their  posterity  would  have,  in  these 
respects,  been  like  them.  Whatever  mankind  derive  from  their 
first  parents  must,  by  the  divine  constitution,  resemble  the 
source  from  whence  derived  ;  and  experience  shows  that  they 
have  derived  a  nature,  which,  when  matured  into  action,  will 
act  sinfully.  Hence  their  nature  is  properly  said  to  be  corrupt, 
and  they  are  in  scripture  called,  "  degenerate  plants  of  a  strange 
vine."  But  blame  cannot  be  charged  to  the  account  of  any  crea- 
ture prior  to,  and  exclusive  of,  the  consideration  of  his  own 
voluntary  disposition  and  conduct. 

I  beg  the  reader  to  examine  the  preceding  few  remarks ;  to 
divest  himself  of  all  prejudice  in  favour  of  names  and  authori- 
ties, and  he  will  perceive  that  they  are  almost  self-evidently 
true.  If  the  subject  may  be  illustrated  by  the  analog}'  which 
it  bears  to  the  constitution  of  the  natural  world,  Adam  was  con- 
stituted the  head  of  the  human  race,  in  the  same  sense  that  the 
first  apple  tree  was  constituted  the  head  of  apple  trees  ;  or  the 
first  lion  the  head  of  all  lions  ;  and  all  lions  acted  in  the  first  lion, 
as  all  mankind  acted  in  Adam. 

The  word  of  God  teaches  that  the  human  race  were  ruined  hy 
the  fall  of  our  first  parents.  It  was  so  from  the  sovereign  con- 
stitution already  stated.  "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  and  death  by  sin,  wherefore  death  hath  passed  upon  all 
men,  for  that  all  have  sinned.'^''  If,  in  consequence  of  Adam's  fall, 
all  his  posterity  derived  from  him  a  sinful  nature,  then  it  is  pro- 
per to  say,  that,  "  hy  the  offence  of  one^  many  were  made  sinners  ;^^ 
and  so,  of  necessity,  "  by  the  offence  of  one,  judgment  came 
upon  all  men  to  condemnation." 

If  nothing  depended  on  the  exposition  of  these  passages  of  St. 
Paul,  it  must  be  admitted  that  this  mode  of  expounding  them  is 
fair  and  liberal.  Indeed,  it  is  clear,  that  by  these  expressions  he 
means  to  allude  to  the  grand  constitution  already  explained,  and 
which  experience  every  moment  illustrates  before  our  eye«. 
But  important  consequences  flow  from  a  right  understanding  of 


I 


31 

these  and  sundry  similar  passages  of  scripture.  For,  if  they 
are  understood  to  establish  the  idea  that  Adam's  crime,  guilt, 
and  character,  are  in  fact  transferred  to  his  descendants,  prior  to 
the  consideration  of  their  own  moral  character ;  if  they  are  con- 
demned for  his  act,  independently  of  their  own,  then  the  first 
principles  of  immutable  and  eternal  justice  are  supervened  and 
destroyed,  and  innumerable  solemn  and  express  declarations  of 
holy  writ  are  contradicted. 

"  What  mean  ye  that  ye  use  this  proverb  concerning  the  land 
of  Israel,  saying.  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the 
children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge  1 — As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God, 
ye  shall  not  have  occasion  any  more  to  use  this  proverb  in 
Israel.  Behold  !  all  souls  are  mine ;  as  the  soul  of  the  father, 
so  also  the  soul  of  the  son  is  mine.  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it 
shall  die.  The  son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,  nor 
the  father  the  iniquity  of  the  son.  Hear  now,  O  house  of  Israel, 
isnot  my  way  equal,  are  not  your  ways  unequal?" 

But  these  words  were  addressed  particularly  to  the  house  of 
Israel.  What  then  ?  They  go,  unequivocally,  to  the  main  point 
for  which  I  contend ;  and  establish  it  with  great  force  and  clear- 
ness. God  here  condescends  to  vindicate  his  character  from 
the  charge  thrown  on  it  by  the  house  of  Israel,  which  was  that 
his  way  was  unequal.  He,  therefore,  by  a  solemn  oath,  delares 
they  shall  no  longer  use  that  proverb,  which  indicates  the  impu- 
tation of  guilt,  and  transfer  of  character  from  father  to  son. 
"  All  souls  are  mine.  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.  The 
son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,"  &c.  The  equality 
and  justice  of  the  divine  government  are  predicated  on  this  de- 
claration, and  do  certainly  depend  essentially  on  the  truth  of  it : 
and  it  is  fairly  and  strongly  implied,  that,  were  the  son  condemned 
for  the  sin  of  his  father^  the  way  of  God  would  not  be  equal. 

Some,  indeed,  evade  these  remarks  and  conclusions  by  say- 
ing, humorously,  that  Ezekiel  was  rather  inclined  to  Armnian- 
ism.  Alas,  for  poor  Ezekiel  and  James  !  they  neither  of  them 
stand  very  high  in  the  opinion  of  the  hyper-calvinist :  they  were 
rather  lax. 

It  never  entered  into  the  heart  of  any  of  the  sacred  and  in- 
spired writers,  from  Moses  to  St.  John,  that  Adam's  posterity 


32 

w^e  any  otherwise  involved  in  this  crime  and  guilt  than  that 
human  nature  was  originally  and  entirely  corrupted  in  conse- 
quence of  his  apostacy.  The  first  parents  being  sinlul,  frail, 
mortal,  and  miserable,  such  are  their  offspring.  The  doctrine 
of  a  real  transfer  of  character,  and  imputation  of  guilt,  over  and 
above  all  this,  would  suppose  "  the  children's  teQth  to  he  set  on 
edge'''  with  a  vengeance.  Yet  volumes  have  been  written  to 
make  it  out ;  absurdities  have  been  heaped  upon  absurdities ; 
thousands  of  pages  have  been  written  to  show  that  we  all  acted 
in  Adam ;  and  men  have  strained  their  eyes  to  see  how  that  could 
be,  till  they  become  bloodshot — nay,  even  Wind.  And  they  re- 
mind me  of  Erasmus'  story  of  seven  men,  who  went  to  take  a 
ride,  one  clear  fine  day,  with  Poole.  As  they  were  riding  along 
the  road,  Poole,  to  make  himself  sport,  looked  up  into  the  hea- 
vens, and  suddenly  crossing  himself  in  pretended  surprise,  de- 
clared he  saw  in  the  sky  a  monstrous  dragon  with  fiery  horns, 
and  his  tail  turned  up  into  a  circle.  They  all,  very  much  as- 
tonished at  the  declaration,  looked  up,  but  saw  nothing.  "  Can't 
you  see  it,"  continued  Poole,  "  It  is  there  I  You  must  certain- 
ly be  blind.  Amazing  !  How  terrible  it  looks.  Don't  you  see 
it  yet  1  Oh  !  I  never  saw  such  a  sight  in  all  my  life  before. 
You  certainly  must  see  it."  In  short,  after  a  while,  one,  a  little 
more  credulous  than  the  rest,  said,  I  think  I  do  see  it.  Yes, 
yes — I  see  it  plainly.  At  this,  another  fancied  he  saw  it.  And, 
says  Erasmus,  some,  by  force  of  imagination,  others  fearing  they 
should  be  thought  less  sharp- sighted  than  the  rest,  confessed  they 
saw  it  :  and  they  soon  all  came  in,  without  a  dissenting  voice. 
The  next  day  a  particular  account  of  the  prodigy  was  pubhshed  in 
the  papers,  authenticated  by  the  testimony  of  six  or  seven  credi- 
ble men. 

To  candid,  unprejudiced  men,  I  shall  use  but  one  argument 
to  prove  we  did  not  act  in  Adam  ;  and  that  is,  because  we  did 
not  exist  till  long  after  Adam  left  the  world. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


33 

No.  VII. 

Depravity  consists  in  the  want  of  holiness,  or,  if  you  please, 
love  of  sin  ;  and  has  no  connexion,  strictly  speaking,  with  a  man's 
ability  to  do  right  or  to  do  wrong.  In  this  sense  I  consider  man- 
kind by  nature  as  totally  depraved,  for  they  have  no  love  to  God, 
to  his  law,  or  government,  or  gospel.  They  have  no  incapacity 
to  do  right  but  what  arises  from  their  love  to  do  wrong  ;  there  is 
no  bar  in  the  way  of  their  doing  their  whole  duty,  but  their  dis- 
inclination to  do  it.  Their  love  of  sin,  though  voluntary,  is  so 
decided  and  uniform,  their  disinclination  to  obey  God,  though 
free,  is  so  determined  and  strong,  that  some  have  been  pleased, 
for  the  sake  of  distinction,  to  terra  it  a  moral  inability. 

If  it  must  be  admitted  as  a  perfection  and  felicity,  in  any  lan- 
guage when  it  is  stored  with  words  and  phrases  fully  adapted  to 
express,  without  tedious  circumlocution,  the  various  ideas  we 
may  wish  to  convey,  it  surely  cannot  be  denied  that  the  phrase, 
moral  inability,  is  both  useful  and  necessary.  If  it  be  convenient 
to  have  a  phrase  which  shall  express,  in  a  clear  and  simple  man- 
ner, the  impediment  which  arises  from  a  strong  disinclination 
to  do  a  thing,  or  a  voluntary  determination  not  to  do  it,  the 
phrase  before  us  is  convenient.  I  am  unable  to  pluck  the  sun 
from  his  station  in  the  heavens  ;  this  is  called  a  natural  inabili- 
ty. I  am  unable  to  ascend  a  tower  and  throw  myself  down  ; 
this  is  a  moral  inability.  And,  using  words  according  to  their 
common  and  popular  import,  in  the  former  of  these  cases  there 
is  a  want  of  ability  ;  in  the  latter  a  want  of  wilL 

However  the  sinner's  inability  may  be  considered,  whether 
natural  or  moral ;  whether  in  want  of  abihty,  or  in  want  of  will, 
one  thing  is  certain,  the  above  distinction  exists,  and  has  been  re- 
cognized by  the  ablest,  most  perspicuous,  and  most  classical  wri- 
ters in  our  language,  and  probably  in  all  languages.  Indeed,  there 
is  not  a  day  passes,  there  is  scarcely  an  occurrence  in  which  this 
phraseology  is  not  adopted ;  and  I  am  bold  to  say,  none  use  it 
oftener  than  those  very  persons  who  inveigh  so  bitterly  against 
moral  inability  as  an  idle  and  useless  distinction.  Every  body, 
learned  and  unlearned,  old  and  young,  use  the  phrase,   and  under- 


34 

Stands  it.  Every  one  is  in  the  habit  of  saying,  when  he  feels  an 
utter  disinchnation  to  do  a  thing,  "  I  cannot  do  it ;"  When  he  is 
determined  not  to  do  a  certain  act,  "  I  cannot  do  it :  I  am  unable 
to  do  it."  This  phrase  prevails  in  all  sorts  of  business,  on  all 
occasions,  in  all  books,  and  in  all  languages,  and  the  man  who 
condemns  the  distinction  has  nothing  to  shield  him  from  the 
charge  of  dishonesty  but  incorrigible  ignorance. 

Now,  no  great  stretch  of  metaphysics  is  necessary  to  perceive, 
that  if  it  be  proper  for  me  to  say  I  cannot  do  an  act,  merely  be- 
cause I  am  determined  not  to  do  it,  it  is  proper  also  to  call  that  a 
moral  inability,  to  distinguish  it  from  that  inability  which  arises 
from  want  of  power. 

Having  shown  what  I  mean  by  a  moral  inability  ;  having  said, 
as  I  think,  enough  to  put  the  adversaries  of  this  distinction  both 
to  silence  and  to  shame,  I  now  proceed  to  observe,  in  brief, 
that  mankind  labor  under  no  other  kind  of  inability  to  perform 
the  whole  duty  which  God  requires  of  them.  In  proof  of  this, 
had  I  time,  I  might  quote  almost  the  entire  volume  of  Scripture. 
Were  a  hundred  prisoners  chained,  like  Baron  Trenck,  by  massy 
links  and  staples  to  the  floor  and  walls  of  their  prison,  should  a 
man  go  into  the  prison  and  begin  to  exhort  them  to  hasten  out 
without  delay ;  what  would  they  think  of  him  ?  they  would  take 
him  either  for  a  tyrant  come  to  insult  their  helplessness,  or  for  a 
madman  or  an  idiot  ;  and  they  would  reply  to  his  exhortation, 
do  you  not  see  these  chains  1  why  do  you  insult  us? 

An  exhortation  or  command  to  do  a  duty,  always  implies  a  be- 
lief in  the  one  who  exhorts,  that  he,  to  whom  the  exhortation  is 
given,  is  capable  of  doing  the  duty  enjoined  upon  him.  If  this  great 
principle  be  denied,  the  plainest  dictates  of  common  sense  and 
justice  are  abolished  and  done  away,  and  the  Bible  becomes  a 
book  of  riddles  and  contradictions.  It  is,  indeed,  such  gross  per- 
version of  the  plainest  dictates  of  reason,  justice,  and  common 
sense,  that  has  filled  all  Christendom  with  infidels,  atheists,  and 
apostates ; — that  has  shrouded  the  Christian  church  with  dark- 
ness— filled  her  with  impurity  and  rottenness,  and  smitten  her 
with  decline  and  consumption. 

A  great  part  of  the  Bible  is  made  up  of  exhortations,  persua-> 
sions,  and  commands  to  mankind,  to  forsake   their  sins,  and  to 


35 

love  and  obey  God.  But  a  set  of  preachers  come  forward  and 
employ  a  large  portion  of  all  their  sermons  in  persuading  people 
that  they  cannot  do  any  of  these  things,  which  God,  and  his  pro- 
phets and  apostles  have  exhorted  and  commanded  them  to  do, 
any  more  than  they  can  pluck  the  sun  from  the  heavens.  And 
when  one  endeavours  to  relieve  the  difficulty,  by  showing  that 
their  inability  is  only  of  the  moral  kind,  consisting  in  want  of 
will,  and  not  of  power,  an  outcry  is  raised,  he  is  hooted  and 
accounted  as  an  Arminian,  and  the  people  assured,  over  and  over 
again,  that  their  inability  is  a  true  and  natural  incapacity,  or  want 
of  power. 

Every  one  knows  that  universal  assent,  {'•^  quod  est  norma  la- 
quendi,''^)  has  rendered  it  as  proper  for  me  to  say,  I  cannot  throw 
myself  into  a  furnace,  or  from  a  precipice,  as  it  is  to  say,  I  can- 
not overturn  a  mountain.  But  these  "  cannots^''  are  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent character — one  is  a  mere  want  of  will,  the  other  is  a  total 
want  of  power.  What  rational  ground  of  objection  is  there  to 
calling  one  a  natural,  the  other  a  moral  inability  ?  The  distinc- 
tion is  clear — it  is  easily  perceived — it  is  useful ;  for,  in  fact, 
none  is  more  used ;  it  is  necessary,  because  no  other  simple 
phrase  can  express  it.  Who  does  not  percieve  how  it  alters  the 
case,  whether  a  man  is  prevented  from  doing  his  duty  by  want 
of  will,  or  by  want  of  power?  And,  I  add,  this  distinction 
applies  to  one  of  the  most  important  doctrines  of  religion.  Yet 
these  triangular  divines  cannot  perceive  it ;  but  their  cannot  is  a 
will  not.  And  how  hard  it  is  to  make  a  man  see  what  he  will 
not ;  for  none  are  so  blind  as  those  who  will  not  see.  If  you 
even  seize  them  by  the  shoulders,  and  turn  them  by  main 
strength  round  towards  the  objact,  they  will  then  turn  away 
their  face.  But  if  you  force  their  heads  round  in  the  direction, 
they  will  then  shut  their  eyes ;  force  open  their  eyelids,  and 
they  roll  away  their  eyeballs. 

The  violent  opposition  to  this  grand  and  obvious  distinction 
arises  from  this,  that,  if  once  admitted,  their  scheme  of  depravi- 
ty is  overthrown.  Their  successful  opposition  is,  to  them,  worth 
as  much  as  victory. 

The  scripture  writers  wrote  long  before  modern  controversies 
had   given  a  technical  meaning  to  half  the  terms   in  theology ; 


36 

long  before  the  church  had  been  dressed  up  in  the  stays  of  Aris- 
totle, or  tricked  out  in  the  rags,  ribands,  and  fringes  of  oriental 
philosophy.  They  stood  in  no  fear  of  the  pedantic  square  and 
compasses  of  the  learned  Dr.  Buckram.  Their  style,  though 
bold  and  figurative,  was  free  and  popular,  and  easy  to  be  un- 
derstood. Indeed,  as  to  the  great  doctrines  of  religion,  it  is 
easy  to  be  understood  by  us,  at  this  distant  day,  except  where 
covered  by  the  cobwebs  of  biblical  critics,  and  entangled,  by  the 
bewildered  and  bewildering  brains  of  learned  theorists,  who  sit 
plodding  in  their  studies,  till  they  become  enveloped  in  clouds 
and  vapours,  and  are  fairly  led  into  the  great,  great  dismaU  by 
an  ignis  fatuus  ;  or,  like  one  of  the  most  learned  and  best  of 
men,  imagine  themselves  a  teapot. 

It  is  impossible  to  follow  the  strain  of  exhortation  which  flows 
unceasingly  through  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  and  not  per- 
ceive that  it  was  given  on  the  full  persuasion  and  assurance  that 
men  are  fully  able  to  do  what  they  are  exhorted  to  do ;  that 
their  only  impediment  lies  in  the  will,  and  is,  of  course,  their 
crime  ;  whereas,  if  it  lay  in  want  of  power,  it  would  be  their  ex- 
cuse. But  I  am  mortified,  I  blush  for  human  nature,  that  it  is 
necessary  to  insist  on  this  point.  That  it  should  ever  have  been 
doubted,  is  full  proof  of  moral  depravity — of  wilful  blindness. 

Those  who  insist  on  a  true  and  natural  inability  in  the  sinner 
to  obey  God,  furnish  him  with  the  best  excuse  imaginable ;  for 
he  will  say,  I  cannot  do  right,  and,  therefore,  I  am  not  to  blame. 
Whereas,  those  who  lay  all  the  blame  on  the  will,  devest  him  of 
all  excuse,  and  effectually  convince  him  of  criminality.  And 
this  is  probably  the  clue  to  that  flaming  zeal  to  abolish  the  dis- 
tinction of  moral  inability  evinced  by  many,  and  the  readiness 
to  embrace  the  doctrine  of  these  teachers,  by  a  still  greater 
number.  While  paying,  as  they  imagine,  a  profound  compli- 
ment to  the  shrine  of  humility,  they  find  their  pride  and  sloth 
safficiently  gratified. 

But  the  advocates  and  disseminators  of  error  have  generally 
sterner  and  more  cogent  motives  than  are  intrinsical  to  their 
system,  otherwise  their  mighty  structures  would  soon  crumble 
to  their  foundation,  and  vanish  "  into  air — thin  air."  These  mo- 
tives grow  out  of  their  particular  circumstances :  in  short,  they 


37 

are  selfish  motives,  arising  from  interest  and  ambition.  And, 
surely,  the  professed  champions  of  selfishness  eannot  be  dis- 
gusted with  the  charge  of  a  little  selfishness,  since  they  assume 
the  thing  charged  by  avowing  the  principle.  Their  selfish  mo 
tives  I  shall  hereafter  notice. 

If  the  term  inability  be  at  all  applicable  to  a  man  when  no- 
thing impedes  him  but  disinclination,  the  sinner's  inability  must 
be  pronounced  wholly  of  the  moral  kind.  This  can  be  shown, 
to  a  degree  of  certainty  approaching  as  near  to  mathematical  de- 
monstration as  any  proposition  of  an  abstract  and  moral  nature. 
It  was  far  from  the  design  of  these  numbers  to  enter  into  the  de- 
tails of  argument ;  and  it  shall  suffice  to  say,  that  the  sinner  can 
do  his  whole  duty,  because  that  duty  is  easy,  and  adapted  to  the 
powers  and  faculties  of  all  rational  minds.  If  it  be  easy  to  be- 
lieve what  is  made  clearly  evident,  and  to  love  that  which  is  in- 
finitely beautiful,  the  sinner's  duty  is  easy.  The  sinner  can  do 
his  duty  because  that  duty  is  prescribed  by  an  infinitely  wise  and 
good  being,  who  knows  how  to  adapt  his  requirements  to  the 
capacities  of  his  creatures,  and  whose  wisdom  and  goodness  are 
manifested  by  that  adaption.  That  nothing  prevents  him  from 
conforming  to  all  divine  requirements  but  want  of  will  to  do  it, 
is  evident  from  the  whole  word  of  God,  in  which  his  nonconfor- 
mity is  invariably  placed  on  that  footing  alone,  and  is  in  no  place 
ascribed  to  any  other  cause.  The  continual  exhortations  and 
commands  of  God  show  us  how  God  himself  estimates  the  sin- 
ner's ability  ;  and  the  duty  to  perform,  and  the  ability  to  perform 
it,  are  the  exact  measures  of  each  other  ;  in  short,  obligation  and 
ability  correspond,  and  run  parallel  with  each  other,  and  cease 
together.  All  just  notions  of  the  nature  and  powers  of  a  moral 
agent,  set  this  point  in  the  clearest  light ;  and  when  I  hear  a  man 
begin  to  talk  about  a  moral  agency  to  do  wrong,  but  not  to  do 
right,  I  feel  myself  much  in  the  predicament  of  St.  Anthony 
when  lecturing  the  fishes  :  and  did  I  not  know  that  a  moral  agent 
might  be  very  ignorant,  I  should  almost  be  tempted  to  deny  that 
exalted  rank  to  such  superlative  ignorance. 

To  believe  in  absurdities,    and   things    evidently  false,    and    to 
practise    supposed    impossibilities,    requires,    indeed,  a  monstrous 
sti;.etch  of  faith,    and   an   incredible  degree  of  power ;  perhaps 
4 


38 

these  strenuous  advocates  of  man's  natural,  or,  if  you  please, 
physical  inability,  get  that  idea  from  the  peculiar  complexion  of 
their  scheme.  I  am  willing,  for  one,  to  do  them  the  justice  to 
confess  that  I  labor  under  a  true  natural  inability  to  believe  in 
their  doctrines,  or  practice,  agreeably  to  their  faith. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  VIII. 

My  present  object  is,  without  descending  to  elaborate  argu- 
ment, to  convey,  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  what  I  understand 
to  be  the  scripture  doctrine  of  the  atonement  of  Christ. 

As  the  death  of  Christ  is  generally  allowed  to  be  a  propitia- 
tory sacrifice,  if  those  who  are  concerned  to  understand  the  doc- 
trine of  the  atonement  would  consider  attentively  in  what  way, 
or  on  what  princ  iple,  the  death  of  Christ  made  propitiation  for 
sin,  I  think  there  could  be  but  one  opinion  concerning  tlie  atone- 
ment. But,  utterly  overlooking  this  grand  point,  and  resorting 
to  metaphors  and  comparisons  which  have  but  few  points  of  re- 
semblance to  the  great  subject  in  question,  embarrassment,  con- 
fusion, and  error  have  found  their  way  into  one  of  the  plaiaest 
doctrines  of  the  Bible. 

The  advocates  of  what  may  be  called  particular  atonement 
amuse  and  edify  themselves  by  continually  resorting  to  certain 
expressions  and  passages  of  scripture,  such  as  that  Christ  died 
for  his  people^  laid  down  his  life  for  the  sheep,  &Lc.  never  con- 
sidering that  they  have  no  right  to  monopolize  these  expres- 
sions as  supporting  their  scheme.  If  Christ  tasted  death  for 
every  man,  he  certainly  did  so  for  his  people.  If  he  were  a 
propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  he  certainly  was 
for  the  sins  of  his  elect.  If  he  laid  down  his  life  for  all  man- 
kind, he  surely  did  so  for  his  sheep. 

The  metaphor  oi debt  and  credit  has  done  infinite  mischief  in 
tills  business.  They  consider  the  elect  as  owing  a  debt  to  jus- 
tiee,  which  Christ  has  paid  ;  and  his  payment  is  of  course  passed 
W  their  credit ;  so  that  they  then  have  a  legal  right  to  demand  par- 


39 

don  and  justification ;  and  this  demand  is  sometimes  made  in 
their  prayers  and  religious  exercises,  in  a  manner  so  bold  and 
daring,  as  to  shock  the  humble  and  penitent  Christian.  Yet,  af- 
ter all,  they  appear  never  to  have  considered  how  it  is  that 
the  death  of  Christ  makes  propitiation  for  sin,  or  pays  the  debt 
they  so  much  talk  of;  and,  if  so,  they  are  profoundly  ignorant 
of  the  nature  of  the  atonement.  But  if  they  do  not  understand 
its  nature,  how  can  they  judge  correctly  of  its  extent  ? 

The  curse  of  the  law  of  God  is  his  displeasure,  expressed  in 
the  punishment  of  transgression.  But  why  is  the  law  of  God 
penal  ? — What  end  is  to  be  answered  by  the  punishment  of  the 
transgressor  1  It  is  not  because  God  takes  delight  in  the  misery 
of  his  creatures,  for  its  own  sake.  It  is  not  to  repair  the  breach 
of  the  law,  for  that  is  impossible  :  what  is  done  cannot  be  un- 
done. It  is  not  to  reclaim  the  offender,  for  it  does  not  do  it. 
It  is,  in  one  word,  to  show  God's  hatred  of  sin^  and,  in  the  same 
degree,  his  love  of  holiness.  This  is  indeed  the  object  of  pe- 
nalty under  human  governments  :  it  is  to  show  the  displeasure  of 
the  supreme  authority  at  transgression. 

The  penalty  of  the  divine  law  is  the  only  mean  of  showing 
to  intelligent  creatures  God's  hatred  of  sin.  If  the  obedient  and 
disobedient  fared  equally  well  under  God's  government,  there 
could  be  no  distinction  made  between  sin  and  holiness.  When 
a  sinner  is  punished,  all  rational  creatures,  who  see  it,  perceive 
how  the  Almighty  Ruler  regards  transgressions,  and  they  will 
fear  to  transgress  :  at  the  same  time,  they  see  how  God  honours 
his  own  law,  by  the  terrible  manifestation  of  his  displeasure  ;  and 
they  will  be  led  to  honour  the  same. 

When  Christ  endured  the  curse  of  the  law,  the  same  disco- 
very was  made  of  God's  hatred  of  transgression — the  same,  of 
his  regard  for  his  own  law  :  though,  perhaps,  in  a  still  more 
striking  form  than  when  sinners  are  punished  for  their  own  sins. 
Christ,  therefore,  made  propitiation  for  sin,  by  his  death,  by  com- 
pletely answering  thereby  the  great  end  of  penalty,  or  the  death 
of  the  sinner. 

This  1  understand  to  be  the  nature  cf  the  atonement  or  propiti- 
ation of  Christ  ;  and  it  differs  essentially  from  all  notions  of  debt 
and  credit,  in  the  following  particulars  : — 


40 

1.  The  two  cases  are  entirely  different  in  their  general  na- 
ture, as,  in  strictness,  the  one  is  criminal,  the  other  civil  :  the 
former  involving  the  principles  of  a  purely  retributive  justice, 
the  latter  a  justice  that  is  strictly  commutative  :  there  being  no 
resemblance  between  the  pardon  of  a  criminal  and  the  release  of  a 
debtor. 

2.  The  two  cases  are  different  in  all  their  forms  and  circum- 
stances. The  satisfaction  to  justice  is  a  general  principle  ;  the 
payment  of  a  debt  a  partial  and  local  act. 

3.  As  a  criminal  process  always  originates  from,  and  is  in  fa- 
vour of,  the  public  or  state,  the  satisfaction  it  demands  is  also  a 
public  satisfaction  ;  except  where  private  and  particular  injury 
is  sustained,  which  justice  will  also  remedy  by  private  and  par- 
ticular satisfaction :  but  a  civil  action  of  debt,  for  instance,  is 
always  in  favour  of  one  or  more  individuals,  or  individual  bo- 
dies, and  recovers  a  satisfaction  to  an  individual,  &c. 

4.  A  propitiatory  satisfaction  does  never,  from  its  own  na- 
ture, give  the  criminal  a  legal  right  to  demand  his  discharge  ; 
since  it  neither  obliterates  his  crime,  nor,  in  any  degree,  lessens 
his  guilt  ;  and  though  it  vests  that  right  in  the  propitiator,  it  impo- 
ses on  him  no  obligation  to  exercise  it,  unless  he  has  bound  him- 
self so  to  do  by  promise.  Whereas,  the  payment  of  a  debt  is 
but  the  answer  of  a  private  demand,  which  demand  it  cancels, 
and  iu  return  empowers  the  debtor  to  demand  his  discharge. 

I  have  pointed  out  some,  but  not  all,  of  the  differences  be- 
tween the  payment  of  a  debt  and  a  propitiatory  satisfaction. 
And  I  believe  any  man  will  find  himself  puzzled  to  point  out 
one  exact  feature  of  resemblance  between  them. 

If  I  might  use  the  terms  of  law,  an  action  from  the  whole  uni- 
verse lies  against  every  sinner :  the  essential  rights  of  all  beings 
demand  his  punishment,  for  transgressing  the  law  of  God.  The 
Son  of  God  undertakes  to  make  propitiation  for  sin,  to  magnify 
the  law,  and  make  it  honorable,  and  yet  show  mercy  to  the  sin- 
ner. But  here  the  objection  comes  forward  with  an  importunate 
question:  "For  whom  did  Christ  undertake  to  make  satisfac- 
tion ?  For  whom  did  he  make  propitiation  ?"  This  question  shows 
that  the  querist  has  fixed  in  his  mind  the  payment  of  a  debt 


41 

which  we  have  shown  bears  but  a  faint  and  remote  resemblance 
to  the  subject  in  hand.  But  this  question  admits,  not  only  of  one, 
but  of  various  satisfactory  answers. 

1.  The  nature  of  Christ's  propitiation  for  sin  shows  it  to  be 
an  unhmited  general  principle.  In  sustaining  the  curse  of  the 
law,  he  showed  in  the  greatest  possible  degree  God's  hatred  of 
sin,  and  in  the  same  degree  magnified  the  law,  and  made  it 
honourable.  We  are  not  to  understand  that  the  propitiation,  or 
satisfaction,  of  justice  must  vary,  and  be  greater  or  less  accord- 
ing to  the  number  to  be  saved.  Yet  this  is  clearly  implied  in 
the  payment  of  a  debt,  and  is  certainly  the  idea  of  those  who 
hold  to  particular  atonement.  They  seem  to  imagine  that  all 
the  sins  of  the  elect,  forming  a  certain  amount,  are  estimated, 
and  propitiation  made  for  them.  In  this  lies  their  error.  They 
ought  to  know  that  God  has  not  shown  his  hatred  of  sins  by 
the  death  of  Christ,  either  by  number  or  amount,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  that  he  has  shown  an  infinite  abhorrence  of  all  sin,  and 
an  infinitely  high  regard  for  the  honour  of  his  law.  They  cannot 
but  perceive  that  as  much  as  this  would  have  been  necessary  to 
propitiate  justice,  had  there  been  but  one  sinner  to  save,  and  cer- 
tainly no  more  is  possible  were  all  men  to  be  saved. 

According  to  their  own  principles,  before  considered,  if  one 
sin  were  sufficient  to  involve  not  only  one  man,  but  a  whole  race 
of  creatures  in  infinite  guilt  and  endless  perdition,  they  must  al- 
low that,  after  Adam's  first  sin,  he  alone  could  not  have  been 
saved,  but  by  the  whole  propitiation  which  Christ  has  made. 
And,  at  any  rate,  it  must  be  admitted,  that  had  there  been  but  one 
man,  and  had  he  committed  but  one  sin,  we  have  no  means  of 
perceiving  how  he  could  have  obtained  pardon  and  salvation,  but 
through  a  full  and  complete  propitiation  for  sin. 

We  cannot,  therefore,  infer  that  Christ  made  propitiation  for  the 
elect  only,  from  any  limitation  or  deficiency  in  the  atonement. 
The  vicarious  sufferings  of  Christ  were,  in  all  respects,  the  same 
as  they  would  have  been  had  he  intended  to  die  for  the  whole 
world: — the  same  his  humiliation — his  sufferings — his  condescen- 
sion— his  death. 

2.  I  think  I  have  heard  gentlemen  who  held  to  a  particular 
4* 


42 

atonement,  acknowledge  that  there  was  merit  or  efficacy  enough 
in  Christ's  atonement  to  save  not  only  this,  but  a  thousand  worlds. 
Though  I  thought  the  expression  somewhat  unguarded,  yet  indeed, 
if  a  propitiation  so  full  and  perfect  was  made,  in  what  way 
can  any  one  contrive  to  limit  it  to  a  certain  part  of  mankind  ? 
The  word  of  God  makes  no  such  limit,  but  informs  us  that  he 
actually  did  make  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world; 
that  he  had  tasted  death  for  every  man  \  that  he  died  for  all ; 
that  in  him  should  all  nations  be  blessed,  and  that  his  gospel 
should  be  glad  tidings  to  all  people. 

I  am  fully  aware  that  a  reply  is  ready  for  all  these  passages, 
and  a  thousand  more  ;  and  I  am  also  aware  that  religious  disputes 
are  now  maintained,  not  by  simple  scripture  authority,  but  by 
scripture  filtrated  through  the  conflicting  opinions  of  great  and 
learned  critics,  expositors,  and  casuists ;  against  whom  a  point- 
blank  text  of  scripture  is  as  a  dart  of  straw  thrown  against  Dover 
clifts.  The  shot  is  fair,  but  the  rock  does  not  fall.  Tell  a  man 
what  the  Bible  says  against  his  scheme,  and  he  will  laugh  at  you  ; 
or,  if  he  choose  to  dispute,  he  will,  with  a  smile  at  your  igno- 
rance, reply,  "  I  know  very  well  that  those  are  the  words  of 
scripture,  but  have  you  not  read  how  Dr.  Dogmaticus  and  father 
Fungus  have  explained  it ;  and  even  Bishop  Bigbelly  is  of  the 
same  opinion."  You  may  lay  your  finger  on  your  lip  and  retire, 
for  you  are  beat ;  and  may  say  with  Job,  on  a  difl'erent  occasion, 
*'  If  I  speak  I  shall  be  swallowed  up !" 

This  may  be  styled  rant,  and  if  it  be  even  so,  I  deem  it  the 
only  answer  that  is  due  to  the  bold  and  barefaced  evasion  of  the 
plain  and  simple  declarations  of  sacred  writ.  But  taking  away 
the  fictitious,  and  substituting  real  names*  and  it  expresses  nothmg 
but  the  imperishable  truth.     But  to  return — 

3.  The  gospel,  in  its  own  nature  and  genuine  spirit,  clearly 
implies  a  propitiation  for  all  mankind,  and  that  through  Christ 
the  door  of  mercy  is  set  open  for  all.  The  angels  sent  to  an- 
nounce the  vSaviour's  birth  to  the  shepherds  understood  it  thus  : 
*'  Behold  I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to 
you  and  all  people^''  Sic.  That  the  invitation  is  made  general, 
merely  •  ecause  the  elect  of  Christ  are  unknown  to  those  who 
preach  ti  .?  gospel,  is  a  poor  and  pitiful  shift,  and  renders  the  pro- 


43 

clamation  liable  to  the  charge  of  dishonesty,  and  the  invitation, 
of  insincerity.  Should  I  make  a  dinner  for  but  two  persons,  and 
then  send  out  pressing  invitations  to  ten  ;  nay,  and  should  threaten 
the  whole  with  my  utmost  displeasure  if  they  did  not  come  ;  in 
what  light  would  my  conduct  be  viewed  by  those  who  knew  the 
whole  of  the  fact  1  How  surprised  would  the  two  be  when  they 
come  to  see  there  was  provision  only  for  them  ?  And  as  to  the 
eight,  who  were  invited  with  urgency  and  threatening,  when 
they  come  to  learn  that  a  dinner  was  only  made  for  two,  what 
might  they  not  justly  say  ?  They  might,  and  would  say,  the  invi- 
tation was  false  and  abusive  ;  and,  had  we  accepted,  nothing 
was  prepared  for  us.  Far  different  from  this  was  the  wedding 
feast  of  the  king's  son. 

But  the  all-seeing  God  knows  who  his  people  are,  yet  he  does 
invite  all  to  c  ome.  "  Look  unto  me  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth, 
and  be  ye  saved,  saith  the  Lord."  In  fine,  (for  to  dwell  on  this 
point  seems  like  urging  a  self-evident  proposition,)  all  the  invi- 
tations of  the  gospel  are  unqualified  and  universal  ;  and  those 
who  finally  reject  them,  shall  hereafter  know  that  they  rejected 
a  sincere  invitation  to  a  full  and  infinitely  rich  provision.  Nothing 
can  set  this  point  in  a  clearer  light  than  our  Saviour's  own  para- 
ble of  the  marriage  of  the  king's  son.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
hkened  unto  a  certain  king,  which  made  a  marriage  for  his  son  ; 
and  sent  forth  to  call  those  that  were  bidden  to  the  wedding ; 
and  they  would  not  come.  And  again,  he  sent  forth  other  servants, 
saying.  Tell  them  which  are  bidden,  behold,  I  have  prepared  my 
dinner ;  my  oxen,  and  my  fallings  are  killed,  and  all  things  are 
ready  ;  come  unto  the  marriage.  But  they  made  light  of  it,  and 
went  their  ways.     Matt.  xxii.  2 — 5. 

Can  a  man  who  reads  this  parable  doubt  of  the  fulness  of  the 
gospel  provision  for  all  men — of  the  sincerity  of  the  invitation 
to  all  men — of  the  voluntariness  of  its  rejection,  and,  of  course, 
of  the  ability  to  have  accepted  ?  After  reading  this,  can  any  one 
ask  for  whom  Christ  made  propitiation  ?  If  there  should  be  such, 
ready  to  hale,  I  can  only  answer  him  by  saying,, "/or  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world;"  and  ^leave  him  to  furbish  up  his  powers  of 
evasion. 

4.  Infinitely  more  noble,  more  grand,  more  benevolent,  does 


44 

the  gospel  plan  appear,  on  the  ground  of  a  general  atonement. 
If  a  province  in  the  dominions  of  some  monarch  should  rebel, 
and  the  monarch  should,  on  certain  terms,  publish  an  act  of  grace 
to  a  certain  portion  of  the  people,  telling  them  if  they  would 
lay  down  their  arms,  by  such  a  day,  they  should  obtain  pardon 
and  be  restored  to  favour,  while  all  the  rest  were  doomed  to  in- 
evitable destruction  : — would  this  look  as  magnanimous,  as  great, 
as  worthy  of  a  mighty  potentate,  as  though  the  act  of  grace  ex- 
tended to  all  ?  How  much  more  splendid  and  magnificent  would 
the  proclamation  run,  did  it  state  that  the  great  sovereign  had 
found  out  a  ransom  for  the  whole,  provided  they  would  accept 
his  overtures,  and  bow  to  his  sceptre. 

There  is  reason  to  adore  God  that  this  is  the  language  of  the 
gospel :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature ;  he  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  sav- 
ed." But  this  language  is  not  true,  if  an  atonement  is  made  for 
but  a  part.  And  this  point,  I  think,  has  not  been  sufficiently 
brought  into  view.  It  cannot  be  said  to  one  for  whom  no  pro- 
pitiation is  made,  "  If  you  believe  in  Christ  you  shall  be  saved." 
It  would  be  the  meanest  and  basest  of  all  quibbles,  in  the  most 
sacred  and  awful  of  all  concerns.  It  would,  in  fact,  be  nothing 
less  than  a  most  atrocious  falsehood.  Were  I  in  a  ship  at  sea, 
which  was  rapidly  sinking,  and  the  boat  was  already  so  filled 
as  not  to  be  able  to  hold  another  person,  would  it  be  correct — 
would  it  be  true  or  decorous,  should  some  one  say  to  me,  "  Come, 
if  you  will  get  into  the  boat  you  may  go  to  an  island,  not  far  ofl^, 
and  be  saved?"  — And  to  this  I  will  add,  especially,  if  I  were 
chained  fast  in  the  hold  of  that  vessel,  and  the  boat  already  com- 
pletely filled,  how  would  it  sound  in  my  ears,  should  some  one 
with  great  earnestness  say  to  me.  Come,  go  into  the  boat — there 
is  an  island  near,  and  you  may  escape  1  There  would  be  false- 
hood upon  falsehood,  and  insult  upon  insult.  This  proposition 
would  import  the  following  things;  1.  The  boat  will  hold  you. 
2.  You  have  permission  to  enter  it ;  and,  3.  You  are  ab  3  ta 
enter  it. 

Whoever  says  to  a  sinner,  "  If  yow  will  believe  in  Christ  you 
shall  be  saved,"  says  to  him  the  following  things  :  1st.  Christ 
has  atoned  for  your  sins.    2d.   He  is  willing  to  save  you ;  and,  3d» 


45 

You  are  able  to  believe  in  him.  Christ  himself  intended  all  those 
four  things  when  he  said  to  the  Jews,  "  Ye  will  not  come  unto 
me  that  ye  might  have  life."  For  surely,  if  he  had  not  died  for 
them,  to  what  purpose  could  he  say  they  were  unwilling  to  come 
to  him  as  a  Saviour.  And  if  there  were  a  deeper  impediment 
than  want  of  will,  why  should  he  ascribe  their  not  coming  to  the 
w^ant  of ''will  ? 

If  there  be  a  sinner  for  whom  no  atonement  is  made,  that  sin- 
ner could  not  be  saved,  even  should  he  believe  in  Christ :  more- 
©ver,  if  their  notion  of  appropriating  faith  be  true,  which  is,  tha^ 
every  Christian  must  believe  that  Christ  died  in  a  particular  man- 
ner for  him,  then,  whoever  exhorts  that  sinner  to  believe  in  Christ, 
exhorts  him  to  believe  a  lie.  Wherefore,  these  triangular  preach- 
ers must  be  cautious  to  whom  they  direct  their  exhortations. 
Nor  will  it  always  avail  them,  though  they  keep  close  to  their 
lines  and  angle. 

5.  The  idea  usually  entertained  of  the  sin  of  unbelief,  and 
which  none  insist  upon  more  than  these  preachers,  corroborates 
the  doctrine  of  general  atonement.  They  generally  teach  that 
saving  faith  consists  in  the  Christian's  believing  that  Christ  died 
for  him.  But  how  can  a  man  believe  that  Christ  died  for  him, 
when  he,  in  fact  did  not  die  for  him  ;  and  when  no  propitiation 
is  made  for  his  sins  ?  Which  side  of  the  dilemma  will  they  en- 
counter ?  Will  they  allow  that  Christ  made  propitiation  for  all 
men,  and  thereby  ground  a  charge  of  unbelief  against  those  that 
do  not  embrace  the  Saviour  ;  or  will  they  adhere  to  their  triangle, 
and  at  once  exonerate  the  whole  non-elect  world  from  the  sin  of 
unbelief? 

And  there  are  innumerable  declarations  and  facts,  dispersed 
through  all  parts  of  the  holy  scriptures,  which  go  to  establish  the 
doctrine  of  a  general  propitiation.  "  Behold,"  saith  the  apostle 
John,  "  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  w^orld," 
alluding  probably  to  the  words  of  Isaiah,  who  said  of  the  Messiah, 
that  he  should  make  an  end  of  sin,  and  bring  in  everlasting 
righteousness.  No  expression  can  more  fully  convey  the  idea 
of  full  and  universal  propitiation.  And  there  is  but  one  way  to 
avoid  this  construction,  which  is,  by  mending  up  the  passage  by 
the  help  of  another  word.   The  word  Kosmos,  which,  in  the  Greek 


46 

is  used  for  world,  out  of  eleven  difTerent  meanings,  furnishes  no 
one  which  requires  or  admits  an  epithet  before  it :  and  I  have 
as  good  a  right  to  put  before  the  word  European,  or  American, 
ancient  or  modern,  as  any  man  has  to  put  the  word  elect  or  re- 
deemed. I  believe  it  is  nowhere  in  the  Scriptures  used  to  signify 
the  church  of  Christ :  on  the  contrary,  it  is  generally  used  to  mean 
the  world  in  its  most  literal  sense,  or  the  people,  indefinitely,  who 
inhabit  it. 

The  high  priest  of  the  Jews,  on  the  trial  of  our  Saviour,  de- 
clared that  it  was  necessary  that  one  should  die  for  the  people. 
**  This  he  spake,"  saith  the  evangelist  John,  "  not  of  himself,  but 
being  high  priest  that  year,  he  prophesied  that  Jesus  should  die 
for  that  nation." — By  what  spirit  did  he  prophesy  ? — By  the  spi- 
rit of  God. — Were  the  Jewish  nation  believers  ? — Did  they  not 
as  a  nation  reject  the  Redeemer  ? — Have  they  not  as  a  nation 
been  unbelievers  ever  since  ?  And  yet  a  man  prophesied  by  the 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  Christ  should  die  for  that  na- 
tion.    This  is  surely  out  of  the  triangle. 

But  to  conclude  this  number  :  there  is  no  point  in  the  whole 
gospel  plan,  more  abundantly  expressed  or  strongly  implied,  than 
that  Christ,  as  far  as  propitiation  or  atonement  is  concerned,  died 
for  all  men — offered  up  himself  a  ransom  for  all — tasted  death 
for  every  man,  and  made  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world.  Therefore,  said  the  Apostle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  How  shall 
we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation?"  Assuring  them,  with 
all  the  force  of  reasoning  and  of  eloquence,  that  salvation  was 
brought  within  their  reach  ;  and  virtually  enforcing  the  accusa- 
tion laid  by  Christ  himself,  in  another  place,  against  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  of  wilfully  refusing  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  themselves — nay,  and  of  preventing  others  that  would 
enter  from  going  in. 

Away  with  this  contracted,  limited,  starved,  unscriptural  no- 
tion of  the  atonement  : — it  is  defacing  the  corner  stone  of  the 
Christian  fabric — cutting  it  down  to  a  pebble,  on  which  the  glo- 
rious superstructure  cannot  rest,  but  totters  to  its  foundation. 

It  ought  to  be  the  highest  glory  of  every  gospel  minister  to 
preach  "  Christ  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  but  especially  of  them  that 
believe :"  to  assure  mankind  that  the  door   of  mercy  is    set  open 


47 

before  them,  from  which  nothing  can  exclude  them  but  their 
refusal  to  enter  : — that  God  is  long  suffering,  not  willing  that 
any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance.  The 
gospel,  deprived  of  these  and  similar  topics,  is  defaced — its  beau- 
lies  tarnished — its  riches  wasted — its  influence  destroyed.  "  It  is 
another  gospel." 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  IX. 


These  gentlemen,  who,  to  save  circumlocution,  may,  per- 
haps, be  stiled  Trigonoi,  which  I  think  they  would  prefer  to 
Antiraoralinabilities,  beside  the  true  and  genuine  wielding  of  the 
sword  of  the  spirit,  have  two  ways  of  defending  their  cause. 
One  is,  by  casting  over  their  whole  scheme  the  lustre  and  glory 
of  great  names  and  authorities,  such  as  Calvin,  Turretin,  Picket, 
Ridgely,  Owen,  Marshall,  and  the  like  ;  shrouding  under  this 
sort  of  panoply,  more  notions  which  those  men  never  thought 
of,  than  there  were  ever  toads  seen  under  the  sweep  of  a 
rainbow  after  a  shower.  The  other  is,  by  casting  an  invincible 
odium  upon  their  adversaries  ;  accusing  them  of  holding  to  the 
most  strange,  dangerous,  and  even  blasphemous  sentiments  : 
as  for  example,  that  God  is  the  author  of  sin  ;  that  people  must 
be  willing  to  be  damned,  in  order  to  be  saved  ;  that  all  sin  con- 
sists in  selfishness.  Beside  this,  they  have  a  most  incurable  pre- 
judice against  certain  terms,  which  are  considered  to  be  very 
favourite  words  with  some  ;  for  instance,  such  terms  as  disinte- 
restedness, benevolence,    virtue,  morality,    and  the   like. 

A  paragraph  or  two  on  each  of  these  particulars,  I  think  will 
be  abundant  to  remove  the  mist  from  the  eyes  of  most  people. 
1  say  mist  ;  for  the  filling  of  people's  minds  with  causeless  ter- 
rors, with  these  frightful  words,  reminds  me  of  the  mode  of  de- 
fence used  by  a  certain  fish,  which  I  think  is  called  a  squid  ; 
who,  when  he  is  pursued,  throws   back  into  the  eyes  of  his  pur- 


48 

8uer  a  black  cloudy  water,  whereby  he  loses  track,  and  the 
squid  escapes. 

I  never,  in  my  life,  heard  a  person  say  that  he  thought  God 
was  the  author  of  sin  ;  though,  I  have  personally  known  Hopkins, 
and  many  of  his  most  distinguished  followers.  That  God  is 
somehow  or  other  concerned  in  the  existence  of  sin,  is  an  infer- 
ence, however,  drawn  from  premises  which  few  will  deny. 
The  illustrious  assembly  of  protestant  divides  who  formed  the 
Augsburg  confession  of  faith,  with  Luther  and  Melancton  at 
their  head,  say,  in  that  confession,  that  Satan  was  the  author  of 
sin.  But,  it  is  replied,  Satan  was  once  an  angel  of  light,  and  if 
his  first  sin  were  the  first  sin  ever  committed  in  God's  kingdom, 
then  before  his  first  sin,  there  was  nothing  sinful.  Then,  either 
the  first  sin  had  no  cause,  or  must  have  been  caused  or  com- 
mitted by  a  holy  being.  "  But  this  is  going  too  far  back — it  is 
presumptuous."  Ah  !  quite  too  far  back  for  these  modest,  hum- 
hie^  reasoners.  They  will  do  well  to  observe  it  goes  no  fur- 
ther back  than  intuitive  demonstration  paves  the  way.  I  will 
leave  it  for  them  to  take  which  part  of  the  dilemma  they 
choose,  and  draw  their  own  consequences. 

Some  people  are  accused  of  too  great  boldness  in  their  rea- 
sonings.    Let  us   see  who  is  the  most  bold  and  irreverent.  Eve- 

o 

ry  one  believes  that  God  existed  from  eternity,  before  sin 
took  place  in  his  kingdom.  Would  it  not  be  very  bold  and  im- 
pious to  say  that  sin  commenced  contrary  to  his  expectation  ? 
Would  it  not  be  blasphemous  to  say  that  He  could  not  have 
prevented  the  beginning  of  sin  ?  Would  it  not  be  an  impeach- 
ment of  all  his  perfections,  to  entertain  a  belief  that  he  could 
even  be  indifferent  concerning  an  event  which  was  to  change  the 
face  of  his  whole  kingdom,  to  influence  the  condition  of  all  crea- 
tures to  eternity,  and  to  lead  the  way  to  the  grandest  event 
which  ever  engaged   the  attention   of  creatures  ? 

What  will  these  modest  and  humble  reasoners  say  of  the  in- 
carnation, death,  resurrection,  reign,  and  glory  of  the  Son  of 
God,  the  second  person  in  the  ever  blessed  Trinity  ?  Were 
these  grand  events  merely  remedial  and  preventive,  in  refer- 
ence to  an  event  no  ways  connected  with  the  divine  purposes  ? 
Would  it  not  be  extravagant — would   it  be  unscriptural  to   say 


49 

thai  the  incarnation,  and  work  of  Christ,  were  regarded  as  ulti- 
mate ends,  even  in  the  creation  and  general  providence  of  God, 
since  through  that  work  God  is  manifested  to  his  creatures, 
and  his  moral  kingdom  brought  into  a  closer  union  with  him  ? 
Why,  then,  is  Christ  called  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of 
God,  the  first  born  of  every  creature  ? 

God  works  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will  ;  yet. 
according  to  these  modest  teachers,  who  never  pry  into  any 
thing  beyond  their  depth,  the  whole  plan  of  providence  and  re- 
demption has  been  diverted,  nay,  forced  into  a  certain  channel, 
to  obviate  the  effects  of  an  event  in  which  the  agency  of  God 
had  no  concern.  According  to  this  doctrine,  that  very  event, 
in  which  the  divine  agency  had  no  concern,  has  been  the 
means  of  bringing  about  more  good  than  any  event  in  which 
the  divine  agency  ever  was  concerned. 

If  God  had  no  way  to  produce,  influence,  and  control  events, 
but  such  as  creatures  use,  we  then  might  be  justly  alarmed  at 
the  idea  of  any  divine  agency,  either  direct  or  indirect,  con- 
cerned in  the  existence  of  evil.  Herein  is  the  error  of  man- 
kind ;  they  measure  the  methods  and  motives  of  the  divine 
conduct  by  their  own.  "  Thou  thoughtest  that  I  was  alto- 
gether such  an  one  as  thyself,    but  I  will    reprove  thee    quickly." 

These  are  some  of  the  reasonings  usually  resoited  to  by 
those  who  are  accused  of  holding  that  God  is  the  author  of  sin. 
For  myself,  I  can  truly  say,  I  ever  disliked  the  expression,  and 
I  can  say  as  much  for  many  who  are  accused  of  holding  to  the 
doctrine.  How  far,  and  in  what  way,  the  divine  agency  was 
concerned  in  the  existence  of  evil,  after  submitting  the  forego- 
ing remarks,  I  leave  every  one  to  judge  for  himself.  Their 
argument  may  be  divided  into  two  parts,  wliich,  lest  it  may  be 
misunderstood,  I  shall  repeat. 

1.  They  contend,  that  the  first  sin  must  either  have  had  no 
cause,  or  a  holy  cause.     Quis  protest  negare  ? 

2.  They  say  that  the  consequences  of  sin  have  been  far  too 
great,  and  too  peculiar,  to  admit  of  the  supposition  of  indifler- 
ence,  or  inefTiciency  concerning  its  origin,  in  a  being  of  infinite 
power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  who  foresaw  it.  And  it  must 
be  admitted,  that  the  work  of  creation    itself  is  considered   in   the 

5 


50 

scriptures  as  subordinate,  and  leading  to  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion; since  the  great  Redeemer  is  called  the  beginning  of  the 
creation  of  God,  the  first  born  of  every  creature.  He  was  ap- 
pointed heir  of  all  things  ; — the  whole  universe  was  given  him 
as  an  inheritance,  even  before  it  was  created.  Yet,  without  sin 
there  could  have  been  neither  redemption,  Redeemer,  nor  Imman- 
uel.  Their  notion,  if  they  have  any,  seems  to  subject  us  to  the 
base  and  degrading  idea,  that  the  entire  and  eternal  plan  of  God's 
kingdom  and  government  turned  upon  an  event  concerning  which 
he  had  neither  will,  agency,  nor  influence. 

The  clamour  that  is  raised  against  certain  people,  who  are 
said  to  hold  that  a  sinner  must  be  willing  to  be  damned  in  or- 
der to  be  saved,  is  almost  too  idle  and  ridiculous  to  merit  a  mo- 
ment's attention ;  yet,  like  the  discharge  of  the  squid,  it  blinds 
people's  eyes,  and  scatters  a  great  deal  of  fog  and  darkness.  It 
is  even  amusing  to  hear  them  talk  on  the  subject.  "  What, 
must  I  be  willing  to  live  with  devils  in  fire  and  brimstone  to  all 
eternity,  in  order  to  be  saved  1  Impossible  !  O,  what  horrible  sen- 
timents !  These  people  must  be   monsters  in  human   shape,"  <fec. 

The  people  accused  of  this  most  extraordinary  error,  as  far  as 
I  have  known  their  opinions,  hold  no  more,  on  this  article,  than 
all  Christians,  and  even  the  more  enlightened  heathen  admit,  to- 
getlier  with  Jews  and  Mahometans.  They  hold,  that  every  ra- 
tional  creature  in  heaven^  earthy  and  hell,  ought  to  feel  perfect  sub- 
mission to  the  iinll  of  God.  Now,  if  this  be  an  error,  let  it  be 
made  to  appear  such.  If  it  be  true  and  correct,  let  these  tender- 
hearted clamourers  avoid  the  consequences  which  necessarily 
result  from  it,  if  they  can.  While  they  hold  unquaHfied  submis- 
sion to  the  divine  will  the  duty  of  all  rational  creatures,  they  al- 
so believe  that  a  certain  degree  of  that  submission,  or  resigna- 
tion, belongs  to  the  Christian  character.  And  will  any  one  deny 
it!  The  Christian,  they  say,  sees  that  his  damnation  would  be 
just,  and  is  ready  to  exclaim  with  Job,  "  Though  he  slay  me,  yet 
will  I  trust  in  him."  As  to  any  one's  being  willing  to  be  an  ene- 
my to  God  to  all  eternity,  it  is  out  of  the  question  ;  for  damna- 
tion, in  strictness,  implies  the  penalty  of  the  law,  and  not  the 
transgression  of  it.  It  is  probable  that  every  Christian  is  fully 
aware  that  it  is  not  the  will  of  God   that  his   people  should  be 


51 

damned ;  in  feeling  resignation  to  his  will,  therefore,  which  is 
one  evidence  of  their  adoption,  it  is  not  implied  that  they  feel 
willing  to  be  damned. 

If  it  be  right  that  a  wicked  man  should  be  damned,  I  would 
ask  these  good  people,  whether  they  think  that  a  wicked  man 
ouffht  to  be  willing  that  God  should  do  right  ?  I  fear  they  will 
detect  themselves  of  as  huge  an  error  as  they  charge  upon 
others ;  for,  I  strongly  conj  ecture,  they  will  not  dare  to  say 
that  even  a  wicked  man  does  right  to  continue  to  be  a  rebel 
against  God. 

There  is  nothing  on  this  subject  worthy  of  notice  ;  nothing 
that  a  man  of  sense  and  candour  would  waste  a  moment  about ; 
but,  truly,  the  outcry  that  has  been  raised  concerning  this, 
evinces  a  spirit  the  most  base,  carping,  and  unfair.  It  is,  in- 
deed, not  long  since  it  was  declared  in  a  public  lecture,  before 
a  great  audience  in  this  city,  that  a  certain  sect  of  people  held., 
that  all  virtue  consisted  in  being  willing  to  he  damned.  This  was 
said,  if  I  recollect  right,  by  the  celebrated  Dr.  M'Fog,  and  is 
what  may  be  called,  in  vulgar  terms,  a  thumper.  For  no  such 
thing  is  believed  or  asserted  by  any  one.  Whether  a  pnbhc 
teacher,  who  thus  wantonly  commits  himself  to  falsehood  for  the 
sake  of  exciting  popular  odium,  does  thereby  add  any  thing  4p 
the  score  of  his  faith  or  good  works,  I  shall  not  determine. 

Tliese  companions  for  selfishness,  when  they  hear  it  asserted 
that  all  sin  consists  in  selfishness,  are,  no  doubt,  much  displeased. 
This  opinion,  though  it  may  be  maintained  by  some,  in  their 
metaphysical  disquisitions,  is  peculiar  to  no  class  or  denomina- 
tion of  people  ;  tlierefore,  were  it  never  so  erroneous,  is  not 
to  be  charged  upon  any  scheme  of  theology.  But  wherein  con- 
sists its  odious  enormity — or  in  what  respect  is  it  incorrect  t 

By  selfishness,  I  mean  that  disposition  in  the  mind  of  man 
which  sets  up  the  interest,  honor,  gratification,  or  happiness  of 
himself  above  any  other  object.  Now,  I  ask,  what  sin  is  hu- 
man nature  charged  with,  which  may  not  easily,  and  directly  be 
traced  to  that  source  ?  Is  a  man  covetous  ?  What  does  the  in- 
crease of  wealth  regard  but  self  aggrandizement  and  gratifica- 
tion? Who  desires  what  is  not  his  own  but  for  that  end?  Whi- 
ther does  ambition  tend  ?  What  is  the  source  and  motive  of  envy, 


52 

hatred,  and  revenge  1  The  man  of  pleasure,  what  does  he  aim  at  ? 
What  gives  rise  to  intrigue — perjury — treason — slander  ?  What 
impels  the  thief — the  robber — the   assassin — the  conqueror  ? 

Again,  I  ask,  v^he'nce  is  the  reluctance  of  men  to  obey  the 
law  of  God  ?  It  is  because  they  find  no  gratification,  no  pleasure 
in  the  duties  which  it  requires ;  it  restrains  their  pleasures,  and 
forbids  the  indulgence  of  their  passions ;  therefore,  they  hate 
it.  For  the  same  reason  they  hate  God  himself,  and  prefer 
their  own  pleasure    and   gratification  to  his  honour  and  glory. 

Hence  it  is,  that  selfish  men  are  often  in  danger  of  mistaking 
a  kind  of  natural  gratitude  which  they  feel  toM^ards  God,  when 
he  does  them  good,  and  prospers  their  enterprises,  for  a  true  and 
holy  love  to  God  ;  whereas,  it  is  but  simply  the  approbation  and 
enjoyment  of  their  own  interest,  as  flowing  from  his  providence. 
Christ  himself  teaches,  that  to  love  those  that  love  us  is  no  very 
exalted  excellence,  since  he  assures  us,  even  sinners  love  sin- 
ners, and  can  feel  very  well  disposed  to  requite  a  kindness. 
There  is,  indeed,  no  doubt,  a  great  deal  of  supposed  love  to  God 
and  to  Christ,  which  arises  from  the  very  lowest,  and  most  un- 
mingled  selfishness.  A  man,  by  some  means,  imbibes  a  per- 
suasion that  God  loves  him,  has  done  him  much  good,  and  is  going 
to  do  him  much  more ;  nay,  he  goes  further,  and  persuades 
himself  that  Christ  died  for  him,  and  will  save  him.  This  is 
enough  to  excite  his  love  and  gratitude,  and  he  talks  how  ardent- 
ly he  loves  God,  and  how  much  devoted  he  is  to  the  Saviour. 
This  is  but  a  concise  view  of  the  religion  of  these  selfish  teachers. 
They,  in  fact,  have  the  boldness  to  assert,  that  the  highest  mo- 
tive a  sinner  has  to  love  God  and  Christ,  is  because  he  has  re- 
ceived great  favours  from  them,  and  expects  still  greater.  They 
say,  that  abstract  views  of  the  excellency  of  God's  character  are 
too  remote,  too  exalted,  too  far  removed  from  human  conception, 
to  be  the  proper  foundation  of  love  and  admiration ;  that,  what- 
ever they  may  be  to  higher  orders  of  creatures,  they  are  far 
too  pure,  exalted,  and  refined,  to  operate  as  motives  on  men. 

0  wretched  religion!  Self-deceived  pretenders  to  godliness! 
0  selfishness  in  perfection — base — miserable,  and  blind !  A  man 
may  have  all  this  religion,  may  be  full  of  it,  and  full  of  zeal  to 
promote  it,   and  yet  have  none  of  the  spirit  of  Christ.     Is  there 


53 

then  no  such  thing  as  a  divine  character  ?  Has  Jesus  Christ 
no  character  which  can  be  apprehended,  and  supremely  loved, 
unmingled  with  one  consideration  of  self?  Whence  has  arisen  all 
this  noise  about  greatness,  amiableness,  excellency  of  character, 
even  in  men  ;  which  fills  all  books,  and  which  has  been  the  high- 
est object  of  admiration,  panegyric,  and  delight,  to  men  in  all 
ages  ? 

*'  Ah  !  it  is  all  nothing : — all  too  remote  and  abstract  to  hit 
human  faculties.  /  can  love  nothing  hut  what  does  me  good ;  I 
must  perceive  its  connexion  with  my  interest,  or  I  cannot  feel 
any  regard  for  it."  This  is  selfish  language ;  and  it  is  sordid 
enough. 

The  character  of  God  is  sufficiently  manifested  to  his  ratiofn- 
al  creatures  to  command  supreme  and  universal  love  and  ado- 
ration. There  is  no  character  among  the  heroes  and  patriots 
of  history,  so  fully  displayed — so  prominently  evident — so  easily 
and  clearly  apprehensible.  This  infinitely  glorious  character  is 
collected  from  what  God  has  revealed  of  himself— his  nature  and 
attributes — his  providence  and  grace,  in  his  works,  and  in  his 
word. 

A  man  comes  and  tells  me,  that  a  neighbour  of  his  has  done 
him  a  very  great  kindness  ;  has  paid  for  him  a  sum  of  money, 
and  rescued  him  from  prosecution  and  from  prison ;  what  if  I 
should  say  to  him,  in  reply,  he  has,  indeed,  been  very  kind,  and 
laid  you  under  peculiar  obligations.  But  I  know  that  man  well ; 
in  what  he  has  done  for  you,  he  has  evinced  the  character  he 
universally  possesses.  He  has  done  thousands  of  such  acts  in 
tiie  course  of  his  life,  and  thousands  of  people  have  shared  in 
his  beneficence.  The  whole  of  his  fortune  is  devoted  to  the 
benefit  of  mankind  ;  and  the  various  resources  of  his  mind  are 
directed  and  exhausted  in  promoting  all  sorts  of  improvements  ; 
in  founding  hospitals,  seminaries,  and  liberal  and  charitable  in- 
stitutions. He  has  made  great  improvements  in  the  agriculture 
of  his  whole  neighbourhood  ;  and  has  done  more  to  encourage 
the  arts  and  sciences,  and  to  promote  human  happiness,  than 
any  man  of  his  time.  But  hold,  says  the  man,  that  is  all  well 
enough,  but  it  is  nothing  to  me.  I  feel  no  interest  in  these  ab- 
stract views  of  character.  The  good  he  may  have  done  to 
6* 


54 

thousands,  and  all  his  great  and  benevolent  plans,  do  not  strike 
my  feelings  at  all.  Let  them  be  extolled  by  those  who  were, 
or  will  be,  interested  in,  and  benefitted  by  them.  This  man  has 
paid  a  hundred  dollars  for  me,  and,  therefore,  I  love  him.  It  can- 
not be  supposed  that  I  can  be  affected  by  the  good  he  has  done 
to  others  ;  and,  above  all,  that  I  can  be  so  abstract  and  meta- 
physical as  to  run  back  to  consider  his  character  and  disposi- 
tion, prior  to  the  consideration  of  his  actions,  and  which  lie  at 
the  bottom  of  his  conduct.  That  would  be  all  nonsense,  or,  at 
best,  far  too  refined  for  me.  I  like  the  man  because  he  has  done 
me  good  ;  he  has  promoted  my  interest,  and,  therefore,  I  can  feel 
great  regard  for  him. 

What  ought  I  to  think  of  such  a  man  ? — I  should,  I  confess, 
consider  him  as  a  blind,  unfeeling,  selfish  wretch,  on  whom  the 
great  and  liberal  man  had  wasted  his  bounty,  were  it  not  that 
"  Mercy  is  twice  blest, 

In  him  who  gives  it,  and  in  him  who  takes." 

So  that  one  of  the   blessings  will,  at  least,  redound  to  the  giver, 
however  the  other  may  affect  the  receiver. 

Room  is  furnished  for  the  rise  and  spread  of  an  unlimited  king- 
dom, through  interminable  space  and  eternal  duration,  in  which 
the  glorious  God  and  Father  of  all  has,  from  ancient  days,  pour- 
ed forth  emanations  of  his  infinite  goodness.  In  this  rising  and 
spreading  kingdom,  adorned  with  magnificence  answerable  to  the 
power  and  wisdom  of  the  divine  architect,  are  placed  innumera- 
ble orders  of  creatures.  Beginning  with  inactive,  inorganic  mat- 
ter, thence  rising  to  the  vegetable,  then  to  the  sensitive  and  animal 
kingdoms  ;  and  still  higher  to  creature*  of  a  mixed  nature,  com- 
posed of  body  and  mind,  and  endowed  whh  sensation  and  reflec- 
tion ;  and,  last  of  all,  for  here  our  perceptions  and  means  of  know- 
ledge terminate,  to  pure  spirits,  with  whose  mode  of  existence  and 
general  habits  we  are  still  unacquainted.  Through  these  immense 
departments  of  being,  the  great  Author  has  manifested  one  cha- 
racter of  power,  wisdom,  design,  justice,  and  benevolence.  Intel- 
ligence begins  with  man,  and  ascends  to  higher  degrees  of  excel- 
lence in  angels.  But  as,  in  our  present  state,  we  do  not  need  the 
information,  so  the  infinitely  wise  Teacher  has  not  informed  us 
concerning  the  various  natures,  numbers,  orders,  residences,  and 


55 

powers,  of  superior  creatures.  Yet  enough  is  communicated  to 
assure  us  tliat,  in  all  those  respects,  they  are  answerable  to  the 
grandeur  of  the  kingdom  in  which  they  live,  and  of  the  God  and 
Father  whom  they  adore. 

In  ways  inconceivably  glorious  and  wonderful,  God  is  making 
himself  known  to  this  great  family  :  and  as  all  rational  creatures 
are  immortal,  there  is  full  reason  to  believe  these  discoveries 
will  always  continue  and  increase;  while  to  contemplate,  ad- 
mire, and  adore,  will  be  the  ceaseless  employment  of  holy  in- 
telligences, through  a  happy  eternity. 

Before  the  great  family,  the  almighty  Father  has  exhibited  a 
character  marked  with  the  strongest  lines — the  most  distinguish- 
ed and  illustrious  traits.  Nor  is  there  a  rational  creature,  whose 
faculties  are  mature  according  to  the  constitution  of  his  nature, 
who  cannot  perceive  it.  Every  thing,  from  the  great  frame  of 
nature  to  the  minutest  insect,  declares  his  power  and  wisdom  : 
nor  less  do  they  declare  his  infinite  benevolence.  But  the  work 
of  redemption  more  especially  brings  into  light,  and  fully  illus- 
trates, his  moral  perfections.  Nor  is  it  likely  that  this  work  is 
concealed  from  any  of  his  intelligent  creatures  :  nor  is  it  viewed 
with  less  interest,  delight,  or  astonishment,  by  those  pure  intel- 
ligences who  never  fell,  than  it  is  or  will  by  those  for  whom 
the  benefits  of  redemption  are  immediately  designed ;  while,  on 
the  contrary,  the  redeemed  will  rejoice  with  equal  fervour  in  be- 
holding divine  goodness,  like  a  mighty  river,  flowing  from  the 
throne  of  God,  and  dispensing  itself  abroad  in  immortal  streams, 
to  enrich,  adorn,  and  glorify  the  whole  intelligent  system. 

Can  it  be  believed  that  the  base  and  loathsome  doctrine  of 
selfishness  is  violently  intruded,  by  these  teachers,  even  into 
this  theme  ?  Yes  :  they  will  tell  you  that  every  christian,  yea, 
every  saint,  will  be  so  completely  occupied  with  the  high  import- 
ance of  his  own  happiness,  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  perceive 
any  stronger  motive  of  love  to  God,  than  because  God  has  done 
good  to  him ;  and  that  this,  of  course,  will  be  the  rule  of  his  at- 
tachment to  all  beings.  May  God  dispel  the  clouds  that  hang 
around  them,  and  enlarge  the  ken  of  their  mental  vision  :  may 
he  break  up  this  frozen  winter  of  selfishnes  in  their  souls,  and 
warm  them  with  holy  love. 


56 

Religion  does  not  render  a  man  indifferent  to  happiness,  but  it 
shows  him  his  own  comparative  nothingness  and  insignificance  in 
the  great  kingdom  of  Jehovah  ;  and  all  the  acts  of  divine  goodness 
and  mercy  to  him,  and  to  the  whole  human  race  ;  all  the  blessings 
which  all  creatures  receive  from  God,  show  him  clearly  that 
these  streams  of  goodness  proceed  from  one  boundless,  exhaust- 
less  ocean.  And  who  that  comes  in  sight  of  the  ocean,  in  which 
islands  and  continents  are  all  embosomed,  will  not  be  ready  to 
forget  streams  and  rivers,  which  all  proceed  from  thence  and  re- 
turn thither  ? 

But,  the  shameless  and  strenuous  vindication  of  selfishness,  so 
prominent  in  the  conversation,  preaching,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  add, 
in  the  conduct  of  these  teachers,  for  they  are  all  of  a  piece — the 
virulence  with  which  they  attack  all  idea  of  disinterestedness, 
even  in  the  great  concerns  of  religion,  leaves  room  to  fear  that 
the  pursuit  of  self-interest  is  their  supreme  object.  Perhaps,  in- 
deed, they  will  own  the  charge,  and  feel  willing  to  abide  the  con- 
sequences. If  so,  I  pray  God  to  show  them  that  he  has  a  cha- 
racter which  challenges  tlieir  supreme  regard  ;  and  that  he  would 
teach  them  to  approve  and  love  every  thing  according  to  its  real 
value,  whether  it  directly  tends  to  promote  their  private  interest 
or  not.  This  is  what  I  call  disinterested  benevolence^  and  is  fully 
implied  in  the  great  precept,  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thine  heart,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  X. 

I  TRUST  it  will  be  admitted  that  the  reformation  of  the  church 
is  by  no  means  completely  accomplished.  I  am  sorry  to  be  com- 
pelled to  add,  that  this  "  consummation,  so  devoutly  to  be  wish- 
ed," is  kept  back  and  delayed,  in  part,  by  the  church  itself;  or, 
more  correctly  speaking,  by  individuals  in  its  bosom,  who  having 
acquired  some  influence,  use  that  influence  to  its  utmost  extent, 


57 

not  merely  in  retarding  the  vessel,  so  long  "  afflicted  and  tossed 
with  tempests,"  on  her  voyage,  but  by  striving  to  lay  her  course 
backward,  and  to  carry  her  again  towards  the  dark  and  stormy 
coast  she  left  ages  ago.  Of  this  I  have  given  some  intimations 
in  the  preceding  numbers.  It  shall  be  the  business  of  the  present 
number  to  assign  my  reasons  for  this  assertion.  Whether  I  shall 
substantiate  it,  1  leave  the  reader  to  judge  ;  and  I  appeal  to  an 
enlightened  public,  who  can  have  no  interest  in  wishing  to  be 
deceived  by  the  "  cunning  craftiness  of  man.^^ 

I  appeal  to  the  city,  nay,  to  the  consciences  of  the  men  with 
whose  motives  I  have  made  so  free,  and  shall  still  make  more 
free,  and  whose  doctrines  I  oppose.  For  conscience  does  not  al- 
ways go  hand  in  hand  with  the  clamours  of  contempt  nor  always 
sanction  the  soft  flattery  of  parasites,  or  the  loud  hosannas  of  the 
multitude.  It  sometimes  has  happened  that  while  a  man  deco- 
rates his  brow  with  the  dignified  smile  of  self-approbation,  stern 
conscience  goads  his  heart,  and  pomts  him  to  an  awful  and  impar- 
tial tribunal. 

From  the  seventh  to  the  fifteenth  century,  an  age  of  darkness 
covered  the  remnant  of  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth,  the 
church  was  in  the  wilderness,  and  spiritual  Babylon  maintained 
her  gloomy  reign,  in  a  manner,  undisturbed.  Yet  Christ  was  not 
without  a  witness,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  many  of  his 
jewels  will  be  gathered  from  that  period,  and  from  those  places 
where  "  darkness  covered  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  the 
people."  In  the  valleys  of  Piedmont  the  voice  of  the  gospel  was 
at  times  heard  ;  and  the  name  of  Raymond  holds  a  dreadful  im- 
mortality, from  the  atrocity  of  his  crimes,  and  his  cruelties  inflict- 
ed on  the  followers  of  Christ. 

The  seeds  of  the  reformation  were  sown  previous  to  the  days 
of  Luther.  Even  from  the  times  of  the  crusades  a  series  of  re- 
markable events  began  to  loosen  the  fetters  which  bound  the 
minds  of  men,  and  gradually  to  weaken  the  foundations  of  the 
papal  edifice,  founded  in  ignorance  and  superstition,  and  consoli- 
dated by  ambition.  It  is  a  common  remark,  that  one  great  man 
seldom  appears  alone.  Luther,  the  greatest  of  Christian  heroes 
since  the  apostolic  age,  was  surrounded  and  aided  by  a  constella- 
tion, for  such  I  may  call  them,  of  men  eminently  fitted  by  Provi- 


oS 

denqe  for  the  great  work  they  were  destined  to  accomplish.  And 
while  the  flame  broke  out,  and  was  rapidly  spreading,  in  Ger- 
many, by  a  happy  coincidence,  a  commotion  was  raised  in  Eng- 
land, though  from  causes  apparently  far  less  commendable,  which 
was  not  composed  but  by  the  separation  of  that  nation  from  the 
see  of  Rome. 

The  character  and  progress  of  the  reformation  derived  many 
of  its  leading  traits  from  the  character  and  temper  of  the  nations 
over  which  its  happy  influence  prevailed.  The  thrones  of  Eu- 
rope were,  at  that  august  moment,  filled  with  greater  monarchs 
than,  all  things  considered,  ever  occupied  them  at  any  other  pe- 
riod. In  England,  the  eighth  and  greatest  of  the  Henrys ;  in 
Germany  and  Spain,  Charles  the  fifth  ;  in  France,  Francis  the 
First ;  and  in  Turkey,  Solyman  the  Magnificent ;  while  on  the 
Papal  throne  sat  Leo  the  Tenth,  the  most  powerful  and  accom- 
plished of  all  the  popes,  the  Augustus  of  spiritual  Rome,  if  that 
deserves  to  be  called  spiritual  which  was,  in  fact,  more  carnal, 
sensual,  and  develish  than  the  Rome  of  Augustus  Caesar.  To 
the  ambitious  views  and  great  resources  of  these  monarchs,  ex- 
traordinary as  it  may  seem,  was  apparently  owing  the  progress 
and  establishment  of  the  reformation.  By  these  means,  each 
one,  fully  occupied  with  his  own  projects  and  hopes  of  aggran- 
dizement, was,  in  a  manner,  withdrawn  from  any  hostile  inter- 
ference, till  the  work  of  God  was  accompHshed  by  his  own  im- 
mediate instruments. 

God,  who  is  able  to  cause  that  a  nation  shall  be  born  in  a  day, 
nevertheless  usually  accomplishes  his  great  purposes  gradually, 
and  by  the  use  of  means.  The  gospel  kingdom  at  first  was 
ushered  in  by  small  and  slow  degrees.  It  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected, that  the  Reformation  would  either  be  complete  and  en- 
tire, or  universal.  Yet  the  wisdom  of  God  was  manifested  in 
selecting  Great  Britain,  a  literary  people,  whose  naval  power 
was  to  give  her  a  ready  intercourse  with  all  the  globe  ;  and 
Germany,  a  nation  of  a  character  peculiarly  decided,  persever- 
ing, grave,  and  self-consistent. 

To  draw  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  first  reformers 
and  the  catholics,  with  any  degree  of  exactness,  would  be  diffi- 
cult ;  perhaps  the  attempt  would  be  hazardous.  In  general,  the 
grand  pillars  of  popery  were  torn  away,  the  enormous  load   of 


59 

useless  rites  and  ceremonies  thrown  off,  the  superstitions,  cor- 
ruptions, and  abominable  vices  of  their  ecclesiastical  polity  re- 
jected. But  it  was  the  infelicity  of  the  first  reformers,  as  it  has 
been  of  their  su';cessors,  that  they  differed  and  contended.  Me- 
lancthon  differed  from  Luther  ;  Calvin  from  both ;  Carolstadt 
from  all  ;  and  Erasmus,  if  he  can  be  called  a  reformer,  agreeC 
with  none  of  them,  though  he  approved  of  many  things  they  did. 
Combinations,  however,  and  establishments  soon  took  place  ; 
the  Lutherans  formed  one,  the  Genevese  another,  the  English 
a  third,  and  the  Scotch  a  fourth. 

Some  of  these  establishments  rejected  Episcopacy  and  a  litur- 
gy, while  others  retained  both.  I  shall  avoid  either  discussions 
or  opinions  on  these  points,  relative  to  the  exterior  of  the  chris- 
tian fabric.  I  think  them  not  essentials  of  religion,  and  if  pur- 
sued with  a  temper  and  spirit  conformable  to  their  professed  in- 
tention, I  hope  those  who  may  even  err  in  these  respects  will 
nevertheless  be  accepted  of  God. 

The  grand  pillars  of  the  papal  throne,  and  the  enormous  abuses 
running  down  through  every  grade  of  that  most  corrupt  of  all 
hierarchies,  were  visible  and  tangible  to  the  reformers ;  they 
therefore  united,  at  once,  in  their  demolition  and  removal.  But 
these  were  not  the  only  objects  which  required  tlie  attention  of 
the  reformers.  Errors  in  doctrine — errors  which,  like  roots, 
had  ramified  into  thousands  of  branches,  spread  wide,  and  crept 
far  and  deep,  beneath  a  soil  apparantly  well  cultivated,  were 
still  to  be  discovered  and  eradicated.  In  this  work,  the  first 
grand  reformers  made  less  progress  than  in  some  other  parts  of 
their  vast  enterprise.  The  visible  church  had  long  been  an 
apostate  church,  and  at  whatever  period  the  completion  of  that 
apostacy  may  be  fixed,  the  commencement  of  her  decline  may 
be  traced  to  times  still  more  remote. 

The  days  of  the  celebrated  Greek  and  Latin  fathers  were  fruit- 
ful of  errors,  in  doctrine  and  discipline,  of  stupendous  growth ; 
of  which,  if  they  could  be  estimated  by  weight  or  measure, 
enough  might  be  selected  from  the  flights  and  plunges  of  Origen 
alone  to  crusb  an  elephant  to  the  earth.  The  oriental  philoso- 
phy had  already  mingled  itself  with,  and  claimed  the  sanction  of, 
the  doctrine  of  Christ.  The  belief  that  good  and  evil  were  self- 
existent  and  co-eternal,  had   swept   off  many   into   the    deceitful 


60 

eddies  of  heathenism.  And  when  Constantine  ascended  the 
throne,  the  Arian  heresy  threatened  the  virtual  extinction  of 
the  christian  church.  Hence  the  remark  of  Turretin,  that  "  the 
fathers  are  useful  to  us  as  witnesses  of  fact ^  but  not  as  judges 
of  truth^''  was,  doubtless,  correct. 

In  the  dark  ages,  the  follies  and  superstitions  peculiar  to  the 
respective  nations  had  more  or  less  entrenched  themselves 
within  the  precincts  of  christian  doctrine.  Astrology,  with  all 
its  lumber  of  omens,  dreams,  influences,  conceits,  and  supersti- 
tions, formed  a  huge  portion  of  the  piety  and  devotion  of  thou- 
sands ;  and  logic,  a  wretched  jargon  of  squibbles,  sophisms,  and 
riddles,  supported  by  squadrons  of  anyalytics  and  dialytics,  fed 
their  understandings  with  wind. 

To  crown  the  whole,  the  philosophy  and  morality  of  Plato 
and  Aristotle,  though  not  understood,  were  lugged  in  and  incor- 
porated with  their  religion,  and  formed  some  of  the  main  pillars 
of  their  faith.  Hence  arose  realists  and  nominalists,  together 
with  the  wise  and  profound  doctrines  of  substantial  form:  con- 
cerning which,  hosts  of  great  men  disputed  for  ages,  with  all  the 
learning  and  subtlety  the  world  could  furnish,  and  with  all  the 
spleen,  slander,  and  malevolence  which  priests,  monks,  bishops, 
and  cardinals,  could  feel  or  inspire. 

When  the  superstructure  of  Popery  was  torn  down  aud  destroy- 
ed, there  still  remained  a  great  and  vastly  important  reformation 
to  be  made  in  the  opinions  of  men,  which  is  still  but  partially  ac- 
complished. This  change,  though  not  related  to  objects  vitally 
important  to  salvation,  yet  very  materially  affects  many  impor- 
tant doctrines  of  revelation,  and  many  points  of  practical  religion. 
Habits  of  incorrect  thinking  and  false  reasoning,  sanctioned  for 
ages  by  great  names  and  whole  nations,  cannot  be  suddenly 
destroyed  and  done  away.  Neither  are  men  like  Luther  and  his 
coadjutors  the  men  eventually  to  accomplish  this  work  :  it  re- 
quires men  of  equal  talents,  boldness,  and  decision  of  character, 
but  of  a  very  different  temperament  of  mind  and  turn  of  thinking. 

Among  the  things  left  to  be  accomplished,  after  the  reforma- 
tion, and,  doubtless,  preparatory  to  another  and  far  greater  refor- 
mation still  to  come,  I  shall  mention  but  three  or  four  ; 

1.  That  the  gights  of  man  should  be  fully  understood  and  es- 
tablished.    I  am  grateful  to  a  good  Providence,  which   has   place 


61 

me  in  a  country  where  they  are  better  understood  and  more 
fully  established,  than  in  any  other  country.  Of  all  these  rights, 
I  shall,  at  this  time,  only  speak  of  those  of  a  religious  nature, 
as  they  are  the  most  sacred  and  important,  and  lie  properly 
within  the  scope  of  this  subject.  Religious  rights,  involving  the 
duty  a  man  owes  immediately  to  God,  are  by  far  the  most  neces- 
sary to  be  maintained  and  tolerated,  while  at  the  same  time 
there  is  the  least  provocation  to  restrain  them.  But  tyrante 
early  learned  the  art  of  making  religion  an  engine  of  state  poli- 
cy, or,  in  other  words,  of  ambition  ;  and  thence  sprung  the  op- 
pressive doctrine  of  intoleralion. 

Nothing  can  be  more  surprising  than  that  the  reformers,  whose 
first  theme  was  the  tyranny  and  usurpation  of  Rome,  who  had 
as  yet  but  partially  burst  their  chains,  and  were  still  in  some 
places  menaced  with  racks  and  flames,  should,  notwithstanding, 
be  unable  to  perceive  that  religious  freedom  is  the  sacred  and 
inviolable  right  of  every  man.  Yet  nothing  is  more  certain  than 
that  they  did  not  perceive  it ;  but  adopted  many  of  the  perse- 
cuting maxims  of  the  former  persecutors.  Even  the  great  Cal- 
vin, after  whose  name  so  many  deem  it  an  honour  to  be  called, 
had  not  been  taught  by  the  smait  of  persecution  to  abhor  the 
persecutor;  neither  had  the  tyrannical  intolerance  of  Rome 
awakened  in  him  the   generous  and  liberal   spirit  of  toleration. 

I  surely  will  not  reject  the  truth,-  because  Calvin  held  to  it,  but, 
at  the  same  time,  I  confess,  that  a  persecuting  protestant,  other 
things  out  of  the  question,  stands  lower  on  the  list  of  persecutors, 
in  my  estimation,  than  any  other ;  because  they  ought  to  know 
better  ;  and,  indeed,  we  read  in  such  actions,  rather  the  language 
of  the  heart  than  of  the  understanding  and  conscience.  We 
can  very  easily  apologise  for  them,  and  say  it  was  the  fault  of 
the  times  ;  but  it  was  no  dictate  of  the  spirit  of  Christ 

Since  the  reformation,  the  light  of  truth  has  shone,  and  the 
principles  of  religious  toleration  have,  perhaps,  made  some  pro- 
gress in  every  part  of  Christendom,  not  even  excepting  Spam 
and  Portugal.  But,  in  our  own  happy  country,  they  seem  to 
have  acquired  their  full  maturity.  While  it  is  here  perceived 
that  there  is  no  necessity  of  making  religion  an  engine  of  state 
policy  ;  while  our  rulers  are  not  disposed  to  press  religion  into 
6 


62 

the  service  of  their  ambition,  so  neither  do  our  clergy  hope  to 
increase  their  power  and  influence,  by  blending  the  church  and 
the  state.  Here  it  is,  at  length,  fully  discovered,  that  a  man 
may  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  con- 
science, and  be  nevertheless  a  useful  member  of  civil  society. 
How  long  it  will  be  before  this  discovery  shall  be  as  entire  and 
universal  as  it  is  now  imperfect  and  limited,  God  only  knows. 
But  that  the  church  of  Christ  will  never  recover  her  primitive 
order  and  purity  till  that  is  the  case,  is  certain. 

2.  The  reformers,  while  they  had  but  a  very  imperfect  know- 
ledge of  the  rights  of  man,  were  equally  unacquainted  with  the 
constitution  and  powers  of  the  human  mind.  It  was  to  the  im- 
mortal honour  of  Locke,  that  he  should  lead  the  way,  and  en- 
lighten mankind  on  both  these  subjects,  very  different  in  their 
nature,  but  equally  important  in  their  influence,  yet  intimately 
connected  in  the  same  subject.  And  it  cannot  be  doubted,  but 
that  his  skilful  delineation  of  the  human  mind  led  him  to  those 
just  and  liberal  views  of  religious  freedom  and  toleration,  with 
which  he  equally  surprised,  instructed,  and  delighted  the  most 
intelligent  minds  in  Europe.  Writers  have  succeeded  Locke  of 
more  splendour  and  celebrity  as  philologists  ;  and  if  they  have 
corrected  some  mistakes,  and  supplied  some  deficiencies  which 
escaped  him,  in  his  immense  labours  and  unwearied  researches, 
they  have  built  on  foundations  immovably  laid  by  him. 

But  another  task  remained;  for,  with  whatever  accuracy 
Locke  and  those  that  followed  him  delineated  the  intellectual 
powers  of  man,  the  dispute  still  remained  unsettled,  lohether  the 
will  of  man  were  free — a  dispute  which  was  truly  important,  as 
it  involved  many  doctrines  of  religion  and  morality.  This  dis- 
pute, which  had  been  carried  on  between  papists  and  protestants 
now  raged  between  predestinarians  and  Arminians ;  but  was 
carried  on  in  the  dark,  by  men  who  did  not  understand  each 
other's  ground  or  weapons,  or,  in  fact,  their  own. 

This  country  claims  the  honour  of  giving  birth  to  the  man  who 
put  this  grand  question  at  rest.  Jonathan  Edwards,  proceeding 
on  the  principles  of  Locke,  as  far  as  he  went  into  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  mind,  settled  the  doctrine  of  the  human  will  as  firmly 
and  unanswerably  as  Locke  had  that  of  the  understanding.      Yet 


63 

so,  in  general,  as  to  give  neither  side  of  the  dispute  the  victory. 
But  he  silenced  both  parties,  by  demonstrating  that  they  had 
both  fundamentally  mistaken  the  grand  principles  of  the  subject 
about  which  they  contended.  He  showed,  that  as  the  will  is  not 
o-overned  by  a  self-determining  power,  so  neither  is  its  free- 
dom impaired  by  moral  depravity.  Several  answers  were  at- 
tempted to  this  incomparable  work  ;  but  some  of  them,  it  is 
said,  were  still-born,  and  so  saved  the  credit  of  their  authors : 
while  one  of  Edwards's  principal  antagonists,  as  I  have  heard, 
died  with  vexation,  because  he  came  to  the  birth,  and  was  not 
able  to  bring  forth. 

Edwards,  with  a  force  of  reason  and  intellect,  which  it  is  be- 
lieved by  many  was  never  surpassed  in  any  human  effort,  hav- 
ing drawn  the  lines  of  this  great  subject,  apparently  concur- 
rent with  truth  and  experience  when  drawn,  but  which  no  one 
could  trace  till  his  pervading  mind  led  the  way,  was  able  to 
perceive  thereby  the  import  and  harmony  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  gospel  which  relate  to  the  corruption  and  depravity  of  hu- 
man nature,  and,  in  general,  of  all  the  doctrines  of  grace.  He 
perceived  that  man's  inability  to  comply  with  the  gospel  con- 
stitutes the  very  essence  of  his  crime,  being  only  of  the  moral 
kind,  as  already  explained ;  that  the  provision  of  the  gospel  is 
general,  and  its  offer  universal. 

From  his  view  of  the  constitution  and  powers  of  the  mind, 
he  was  able  to  understand  and  explain  the  doctrine  of  a  moral 
necessity,  under  which  man  acts,  harmonizing  on  the  one  hand 
with  that  of  divine  decrees,  as  taught  by  Calvin,  and,  on  the 
other,  with  that  of  moral  agency,  which  had  never  been  so 
clearly  explained  and  illustrated  as  by  himself.  Hence  Dr.  Hill, 
one  of  the  ablest  of  the  Scotch  divines,  and  the  author  of  the 
Institutes,  says,  that  Jonathan  Edwards  may  be  styled  ^Ae  ^^ prince 
of  the  Calvinists.''^  Certain  it  is,  that  he  did  for  them  more  than 
they  could  do  for  themselves,  showing  the  decrees  of  God  com- 
patible with  human  liberty,  and  the  doctrine  of  total  depravity 
reconcilable  with  man's  accouutableness  and  guilt,  because  of 
a  moral  nature. 

Edwards  was  followed  in  some  of  his  leading  opinions  by 
Hopkins,  and  Bellamy,   and  West,    and,   eventually,   by  most  of 


64 

the  evangelical  divines  in  the  northeastern  section  of  the  union. 
His  writings  have  been  published  and  read  in  Great  Britian  ; 
and  many  of  their  most  distinguished  writers  and  orthodox  di- 
vines have  adopted  the  general   outline  of  his  sentiments. 

Neither  the  term  New  Divinity,  by  which  this  strain  of  sen- 
timent is  sometimes  called,  is  appropriate,  nor  any  more  so  is 
that  of  Hopkinsianism.  The  sentiments,  generally  called  New 
Divinity,  did  not  originate  in  this  country,  and  were  known  in 
the  church  long  before  the  days  of  Edwards  or  Hopkins.  Mil- 
ner,  in  his  church  history,  asserts,  that  the  doctrine  of  a  limi- 
ted atonement  was  not  known  in  the  ancient  Christian  church 
till  the  time  of  St.  Augustine ;  nor  is  it  admitted  by  all,  that 
St.  Augustine  himself  held  that  sentiment.  Certain  it  is,  that 
the  greater  part  of  protestants  have  held  a  general  atonement. 
And  through  the  writings  of  many  of  the  ablest  and  most  ortho- 
dox divines,  the  general  strain  of  doctrine  taught  by  Edwards, 
Hopkins,  and  Bellamy,  are  discoverable. 

Why  this  system  should  be  named  after  Hopkins,  in  prefer- 
ence to  Edwards,  is  not  easily  accounted  for,  unless  it  were  be- 
cause it  was  feared  the  greatness  and  fame  of  Edwards  would 
give  too  much  weight  and  respectability  to  a  scheme  which  was 
called  after  his  name.  Edwards  was  the  great  master  spirit  of 
his  day,  and,  in  theological  truth,  was  the  luminary  of  his  country. 

The  day  and  the  labours  of  Edwards,  and  the  eminent  men 
who  followed  in  his  steps,  form  a  memorable  era  in  the  histo- 
ry of  the  church.  This  may  be  distinguished  by  the  great  and 
sudden  increase  of  divine  light  and  Christian  knowledge  atten- 
ding their  ministry.  For  the  lapse  of  nearly  a  century,  no  part 
of  the  globe  has  experienced  so  many,  and  such  remarkable 
revivals  of  religion,  nor  is  there  any  country  in  the  world  where 
so  large  a  proportion  of  the  whole  mass  of  the  people  are 
known  to  profess  Christianity,  attended  with  evidence  of  its 
sincerity.  As  these  people  have  rapidly  emigrated  into  every 
part  of  the  United  States,  this  evangelical  work  has  followed 
them,  and  New-England  has  been  the  radiating  centre  whence 
reformations  have  spread  to  every  part  of  the  union.  There 
certainly  may  be  exceptions  to  this  remark,  but,  as  a  general 
truth,  it  cannot  be  denied. 


65 

As  it  was  with  the  grand  Saxon  reformer,  so  it  waa  with  Ed- 
wards :  they  neither  of  them  proceeded  so  far  into  the  minu- 
ter pans  of  reformation  as  some  men  who  rose  up  after  them ; 
yet  Edwards,  though  he  travelled  farther  into  the  great  fields 
of  truth  than  any  uninspired  man,  was  not  wholly  occupied  with 
speculation.  Few  men  in  our  own  country  were  ever  made 
Christ's  honoured  instruments  of  turning  more  souls  to  righteous- 
ness. 

The  reformation  of  Luther  bore  a  more  direct  and  efficient 
relation  to  the  demolition  of  the  massy  walls,  the  marble  towers, 
and  iron  dungeons  of  Rome,  than  to  the  erection  of  the  true  gos- 
pel church.  It  was  more  general,  embracing  nations,  courts,  and 
princes,  and  less  directed  to  the  internal  organization  of  Christ's 
church,  in  reference  to  purity  of  doctrine  and  discipline,  than  the 
reformation  commenced  by  Edwards,  and  carried  on  by  others 
coeval  with,  and  subsequent  to  him.  I  repeat,  and  mention  once 
for  all,  that  1  name  Edwards,  and  his  fellow  labourers,  not  be- 
cause he  was  first  in  the  general  strain  of  doctrine  to  which  I  al- 
lude. Many  distinguished  men,  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  even 
as  early  as  Luther  and  Calvin,  maintained  as  nearly  the  same 
ground  as  their  imperfect  notions  of  the  human  mind  would  admit. 

But  after  the  inquiries  of  Locke  and  Edwards  had  resulted  in 
the  discovery  and  delineation  of  men's  intellectual  and  moral 
powers,  the  true  intent  of  revelation  concerning  the  great  doc- 
trines of  divine  decrees,  human  depravity,  liberty,  accountable- 
ness,  and  guilt,  was  better  understood,  and  the  grand  and  glorious 
work  of  the  first  reformers  was  carried  forward  farther  towards 
its  ultimate  consummation. 

I  have  dwelt  long  on  this  article,  and  have,  in  some  degree, 
anticipated,  though  not  in  its  express  form,  what  I  intended  for  the 
third. 

3.  A  correct  knowledge  of  the  powers,  faculties,  and  character 
of  the  subject,  will  be  readily  perceived  to  be  essential  to  a  just 
understanding  of  the  nature  of  the  government  under  which  he  is 
placed.  Accordingly,  neither  the  first  reformers,  nor  their  imme- 
diate followers,  either  entertained  or  conveyed  any  very  correct 
notions  of  God's  moral  government  over  the  world. 

Except  as  far  as   related  to  the  elect  and  church  of  God,  it  is 
very  difficult  to  form  any  notion  of  what  government  they  ima- 
6* 


66 

gine  God  exercises  over  the  human  race  ;  or  the  ends  he  has  in 
view  by  showing,  them  temporal  favours.  None  of  his  dealings 
with  them  can  be  corrective  ;  they  have  no  trial  or  probation. 
There  is  nothing  intended  for  them  in  mercy  ;  there  is  nothing 
designed  ultimately  for  their  amendment ;  they  have  no  inter- 
est in  reformers  or  reformations.  I  say  again,  no  evasion  or 
subterfuge  can  be  so  base,  none  so  mean  and  barefaced,  as  the 
pretence  that  the  non-elect  are  unknown.  They  are  known  to 
God,  who  is  exercising  an  infinitely  wise  and  gracious  government 
over  the  world ;  and  he  deals  with  them  as  creatures  whose  chai- 
acter  and  destiny  are  fully  known. 

The  non-elect,  as  many  contend  the  reformers  believed,  and 
as  some  of  them  probably  did  believe,  labour  under  an  immu- 
table condemnation,  drawn  upon  them  by  the  sin  of  Adam  ;  and, 
beside  this,  a  fatal  and  natural  incapacity  to  obey  God,  and  an 
eternal  decree  of  reprobation.  I  then  ask,  what  kind  of  govern- 
ment does  God  exercise  over  them  ? 

The  word  of  God  settles  this  question,  but  on  far  different 
grounds,  as  to  their  condition. 

It  has  been  already  remarked,  that  the  doctrine  of  a  propitia- 
tion for  all  men,  and  a  general  proclamation  of  grace,  presents  a 
far  nobler  outline  of  the  plan  of  redemption  than  can  arise  from 
any  view  of  a  limited  atonement.  The  same  remark  applies  still 
more  eminently  to  the  idea  of  a  mediatorial  government  exer- 
cised over  all  men.  Were  divine  truth  silent,  the  hand  of  Provi- 
dence, dealing  out  innumerable  blessings  to  all  nations,  shows 
them  to  be  under  the  Mediator's  reign.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  • 
the  comparative  advantages  of  nations  and  ages  greatly  differ. 
Atonement  and  redemption  are  widely  different  in  their  nature  and 
effects.  The  former  sets  open  the  door  of  mercy,  the  latter  ap- 
plies the  benefits  of  Christ.  Some  nations,  and  some  portions  of 
mankind,  have  certainly  been  placed  nearer  the  fountains  of 
light  and  m^rcy,  and  others  apparently  more  remote  ;  but  a  God 
of  infinite  goodness  reigns  over  all  ;  a  sovereign  of  almighty 
power,  and  mysterious  in  his  ways,  directs  the  eternal  destinies 
of  all.  He  is  uncontrolled  in  his  operations ;  he  can  work  by 
means  or  without  means  ;  by  means  visible  or  invisible. 

There  is  not  an  idea  more  incongruous  to  the  condition  of  the 


67 

whole  human  family,  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  or  to  the  ex- 
press declarations  of  the  word  of  God,  than  that  man  is  not  in 
a  state  of  probation.  If  God  commands  all  men  everywhere  to 
repent,  if  he  is  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all 
should  come  to  repentance  ;  if  his  long  suffering  and  mercy  are 
directed  to  that  object,  they  must  be  in  a  state  of  trial  preparatory 
to  their  everlasting  and  unalterable  conJition. 

In  relation  to  the  divine  government,  with  many  of  the  re- 
formers, there  seemed  to  be  but  two  predominating  ideas,  viz. 
Grace  and  Fate ;  whereas  the  Scriptures  uniformly  convey  to  U8 
tlie  notion  of  a  moral  government  ;  that  the  Supreme  Ruler, 
full  of  mercy  and  compassion,  having  conferred  great  temporal 
blessings  on  his  rebellious  subjects  ;  having  wrought  out  a  pro- 
pitiation for  sin,  by  sending  his  son  to  die  for  ihe  world,  has  is- 
sued a  proclamation  of  pardon,  and  an  offer  of  mercy  ;  not  an 
insidious  proclamation  of  pardon  to  all,  when  atonement  was 
made  for  but  a  part,  and,  perhaps,  but  a  very  small  part,  if  we 
regard  the  present  and  past  time,  and  so  made  under  the  shal- 
low and  deceptive  pretence,  that  the  true  elect  are  not  known  ; 
but  a  true  and  sincere  offer  of  pardon  to  all,  on  the  broad  ground 
of  a  complete  propitiation  and  boundless  provision. 

But  it  will  be  asked,  "  if  election  be  admitted,  what  does  it 
matter,  after  all,  whether  atonement  be  limited  or  general  ?"  To 
which  I  answer,  it  matters  every  thing  :  A  general  atonement 
renders  a  universal  proclamation  of  pardon  and  reconciliation  to 
God  consistent  ;  it  places  fallen  man  in  a  state  of  probation  ;  sets 
open  before  him  the  door  of  mercy ;  and,  of  course,  shows  us 
why,  and  to  what  end,  favours  are  bestowed  on  the  wicked 
fully  accounts  for  the  exhortations,  warnings,  persuasions,  and 
threatenings,  which  are  set  before  him  ;  or,  as  I  said  before, 
(and  I  think  it  worth  repeating)  there  never  was  a  greater,  a 
more  shameful,  or  ridiculous  absurdity,  than  to  say  to  a  sinner, 
for  whom  Christ  did  not  die,  "  If  you  do  not  believe  in  Christ 
you  cannot  be  saved."  While,  on  the  other  hand,  election  ifl 
fully  compatible  with  a  general  atonement,  and  the  universal 
invitations  of  the  gospel.  God's  design  to  save  a  part  of  the 
human  race,  lays  no  bar  in  the  way  of  the  rest.  If  I  send  my 
boat  and  bring  oS  five  men  from  a  wreck,  and   give   the  other 


68 

five  an  offer  of  coming  also,  and  they  refuse,  they  will  have  no 
excuse  ;  they  will  deserve  their  fate.  If  they  deserved  it,  in  case 
my  boat  had  not  gone  at  all,  for  refusing  my  offer  they  deserve 
it  doubly. 

The  decree  of  election  is  carried  into  effect,  and  tlie  elect 
are  saved,  not  merely  because  they  were  elected,  but  for  the 
same  reason  for  which  they  were  elected.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  all  the  decrees  of  God.  He  is  infinitely  wise  and  un- 
changeable. His  decrees  I  understand  to  be  his  previous  and 
immutable  determination  to  do  every  thing  in  the  manner  which 
would  be  best,  or  which  his  wisdom  would  approve,  at  the 
time  of  doing  it,  had  there  been  no  previous  decree.  If,  there- 
fore, he  was,  in  fact,  able  to  create,  uphold,  and  govern  a  uni- 
verse of  intelligent  creatures,  in  perfect  consistency  with  their 
freedom,  he  was  equall}''  able  to  form  a  previous  determination 
to  do  so.  In  short,  whatever  he  can  do,  he  can  previously  de- 
sign to  do  ;  and  whatever  he  has  done,  or  will  do,  he  did  unal- 
terable and  eternally  design  to  do.  As  much  more  liberty  as 
can  actually  exist  under  an  infinitely  wise  and  powerful  govern- 
ment, can,  with  equal  ease,  certainty,  and  equity,  have  been 
unalterably  predetermined.  The  opposers  of  decrees  seem 
never  to  have  considered,  that  with  a  being  of  almighty  power, 
wisdom  and  goodness,  it  is  as  easy  to  determine  beforehand,  as 
it  is  to  do  ;  and  that  the  whole  plan  of  divine  government  is  not 
carried  into  effect,  as  I  said,  merely  because  decreed,  but  both 
its  execution  and  decree  rest  immutably  on  the  same  basis,  viz. 
the  entire  approbation  of  God  as  the  best  plan. 

Yet,  surprising  as  it  may  seem,  some  of  our  triangular  preach- 
ers pretend  to  have  found  out  that  God's  plan  is  not  the  best  pos- 
sible plan  ;  and  it  offends  them  very  much  to  hear  any  one  as- 
sert that,  of  all  possible  plans,  God's  plan  is  the  best  ;  you  might 
nearly  as  well  tell  them  that  all  sin  consists  in  selfishness.  I 
think  they  must  be  far  greater  metaphysicians  than  Edwards. 
They  must  be  as  sharp-sighted  as  the  companions  of  Poole,  who 
saw  the  fiery  dragon,  "  cum  cada  retorta  in  circuio.'^  Perhaps, 
they  will  draw  their  main  argument  from  their  ignorance,  and 
rely  upon  saying,  that  they  do  not  know  but  there  may  be  a  bet- 
ter plan.     To  this  I  shall  only  reply,  that   the  material  of  this 


69 

argumeut  is  as  plenty  and  abundant  as  it  is  useless.  It  is  not 
"  ad  ig7iorantiam,^^  but  ab  ignorantia. 

I  have  noticed  some  articles  in  which  the  reformation  fell 
short  of  that  maturity  to  which  it  will  one  day  certainly  arrive  ; 
and  have  pointed  out  the  obvious  progress  which  has  been  made 
in  those  articles,  in  various  sections  of  the  church,  and  parti- 
cularly in  our  own  country.  The  people,  at  least  of  our  own 
country,  will  not  be  backward  to  allow,  that,  in  the  great  arti- 
cle of  religious  freedom  and  toleration,  we  are  far  in  advance 
of  every  nation  on  earth.  Why  should  it  be  thought  incredi- 
ble that  we  have  made  some  progress  in  the  great  and  exalted 
work  of  reformation  1  Is  it  less  probable  that  Christ  would  fci- 
vour  his  church  in  this  country  than  in  Europe,  where  the  ac- 
cumulated crimes  of  thousands  of  years  swell  the  materials  of 
national  retribution  to  a  vast  amount  1 — Where  national  esta- 
blishments and  churches,  slumber  on  the  bosom  of  luxury,  and 
repose  in  the  golden  dreams  of  ambition  ? 

Why  should  the  wrinkles  of  malice  deepen,  and  the  finger 
of  scorn  be  pointed  at  the  names  of  Edwards,  and  Hopkins,  and 
Bellamy,  and  West,  amd  Emmons,  when  they  and  their  fellow 
labourers  have  been  made  instrumental  of  turning  many  souls 
to  righteousness  ;  and  have  been  more  successful  in  religious 
reformations  than  any  men  now  living  on  earth  ?  And  if  that  por- 
tion of  the  church  has  been  favoured  and  honoured  with  a  larger 
portion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  than  any  other,  does  not  this  fact 
bear  testimony  to  their  doctrine  ?  To  the  purity  and  spiritu- 
ality, the  life  and  power  of  their  doctrine,  can  alone  be  ascribed 
the  success  which  has  attended  their  labours. 

With  feelings  of  regret,  which  I  have  no  words  to  express, 
I  am  compelled  to  advert  to  the  systematic,  determined,  perse- 
vering, and  diversified  efforts  of  a  set  of  men,  who  have  ac- 
quired influence,  in  this  city,  to  subvert  the  doctrines,  and  de- 
stroy the  influence  and  reputation  of  these  reformers  in  the 
christian  church.  Their  writings  are  accused  of  consisting  of 
nothing  but  "  verbiage,  tautology,  absurdity,  arminianism,  so- 
cijiianism,   atheism,    nonsense,"  &c.*      The  reformation   which 

•  See  Dr.  Samuel  S.  Smith,  in  his  note  on  the  cover  of  Ely's  Poems. 


70 

they  effected  in  doctrine  and  discipline,  though  thousands  of 
souls,  both  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  will  remember  it  with  eter- 
nal joy  and  triumph,  is  either  altogether  hissed  into  opprobri- 
ous silence,  or  loudly  spoken  of  with  contempt. 

It  is  nothing  to  them,  that  to  claim  the  birth  of  such  a  man  as 
Jonathan  Edwards,  is  an  honour  to  a  nation  ;  that  for  vigour  of 
intellect  he  can  fall  into  no  class  beneath  that  of  Newton  and 
Aristotle.  As  to  "verbiage,"  his  writings,  and  those  of  many 
of  his  brethren,  will  be  read  with  instruction  and  pleasure, 
when  the  vapid  books  of  those  who  cast  the  reflection,  written 
with  moon-beams,  and  dictated  by  the  night-mare,  shall  have 
perished  in  the  rubbish,  lumber,  and  rust  of  libraries. 

There  are  two  very  cogent  reasons  why  they  do  not  answer 
the  books  of  these  tautologists  ;  one  is,  because  they  never  read 
them.  This,  of  all  suppositions,  is  the  most  charitable,  after 
hearing  their  statements,  so  infinitely  distant  from  the  truth. 
Had  they  read  the  books  they  condemn,  they  must  either  hold 
a  different  language,  or  give  up  all  pretence  to  veracity.  The 
other  is,  that  were  they  to  read  these  books,  and  in  those  few 
instances  where  they  have  read  them,  they  cannot  answer  them. 
Were  they  honest  and  candid,  they  would  say,  as  Dr.  Taylor 
said,' after  reading  a  small  tract  of  Edwards,  "I  have  been  wri- 
ting these  thirty  years,  and  this  little  book  confutes  it  all." 

But  they  have  no  notion  of  argument ;  they  do  not  like  that 
way  of  defence  ;  it  is  too  metaphysical.  Their  plan,  both  of 
defence  and  attack,  is  drawn  from  two  sources ;  bold  assertions, 
and  gross  ridicule.  Yes,  the  great  gun  of  the  city  has  been 
fired  so  incessantly,  charged  with  this  kind  of  ammunition,  that 
he  is  suspected  by  many  to  be  breech-burnt.  But  he  does  not 
shoot  bullets,  of  consequence  nobody  is  killed.  And,  not  only 
the  great  gun,  for  I  love  to  talk  figuratively,  but  field  pieces, 
swivels,  blunderbusses,  muskets,  carbines,  pistols — even  down 
to  pop-guns,  have  fired  in  squadrons  and  battalions  ;  and  some, 
I  believe,  as  small  as  the  cannon  made  by  an  artist  of  the  queen 
of  Sweden,  to  shoot  fleas  and  bed-bugs  with,  which  is  still  kept 
as  a  curiosity  in  the  Swedish  museum.  One  of  this  last  de- 
scription it  was,  that  fired  off  the  "  Constrast"  already  mention- 
ed.    But,  luckily,  he  did  not  kill  even  a  bug. 


71 

But  the  weapons  of  this  controversy  are  not  generally  level- 
led at  Edwards,  Hopkms,  &;c.,  but  against  the  teachers  in  this 
city,  supposed  to  hold  their  sentiments.  Unwearied  efforts  are 
made  to  dislodge  them  from  their  stations,  and  drive  them  out 
of  the  city.  This  is  done  by  weakening  their  influence — repre- 
senting their  sentiments  as  horrible  and  dangerous — withdraw- 
ing from  them  the  confidence  of  their  hearers — treating  them 
with  coldness  and  contempt — disseminating  dark  surmises  and 
uncertain  rumours  among  the  people,  and  endeavouring,  as  was 
said  in  another  case, 

"  With  ambiguous  words  to  sound  or  taint  integrity." 

Besides,  great  exertions  are  made  to  fill  all  the  neighbouring 
vacancies  with  ministers  of  their  own  stamp,  and  to  prevent  one 
of  a  different  description  from  obtaining  a  settlement.  In  this 
they  are  greatly  facilitated  by  a  ministerial  nursery,  not  far  off, 
in  which  abundance  of  saplings  are  growing,  nearly  ready  to  set ; 
and  these  they  can  prune  and  shape  as  they  please. 

But  what  is  the  motive  of  all  this?  Ah  !  here  I  must  be  cau- 
tious, for  it  is  dangerous  to  inquire  into  the  motives  of  great  men. 
I  have  lived  long  enough  to  discover  that  a  man's  motives  are 
generally  as  obvious  as  his  conduct.  And  many  men  put  me  in 
mind  of  the  ostrich,  which,  when  pursued  over  the  tropical 
sands,  will  run  a  while,  and  then  hide  his  head  in  the  sand,  while 
his  hind  parts,  to  speak  delicately,  are  all  exposed  ;  and  you. 
may  come  up  and  take  him  at  pleasure.  But  these  men  hide 
nothing  ;  their  motives  are  perfectly  obvious.  But  we  may  judge 
with  still  greater  certainty,  by  considering  who  they  are. 

Some  of  them  are  foreigners,  from  the  island  of  Great  Britain  ; 
some  are  Dutch,  &c.  ;  and  they  certainly  have  their  national 
prejudices  to  plead  their  excuse.  They  are  men  of  considera- 
ble learning  and  talents ;  and  had  not  this  paltry  national  preju- 
dice covered  their  minds  with  a  kind  of  intellectual  vellum, 
highly  unfavourable  to  sharp  sight  or  quick  sensation,  they  would 
be  very  clever  fellows.  But  this  renders  them,  on  certain  occa- 
sions, quite  numb  and  rigid.  It  is  perfectly  natural  for  them  to 
spurn   the  idea  of  being    instructed,  or  detected    of  errors,  by 


72 

any  thing  indigenous  to  the  new  hemisphere.  They  did  not 
come  hither  to  receive,  but  to  give  instruction ;  "  non  ab  allis 
corrigendi,  sed  alios  corrigere." 

Some  of  this  description  there  are  from  New-England,  who 
were  once  professed  Hopkinsians — stars  in  the  Zodiac — 

"  But,  O,  how  fallen  ! — how  changed  !" 

Of  this  number  is  the  Queen  of  Sweden's  little  cannon,  who, 
little  as  he  is,  is  a  sharp  shooter.  He  it  was,  as  I  before  said,  that 
shot  off  the  "  Contrast."  A  disappointment  in  love,  it  is  com- 
monly reported,  made  him,  at  once,  an  anti-Hopkinsian  and  a 
poet.  His  poems  were  so  lucky  in  the  article  of  flattery,  to  cer- 
tain great  men  he  wished  to  please,  that  they  effectually  did  his 
business  for  him  ;  and  I  expect  few  have  read  them  without  feel- 
ing a  strong  propensity  to  do  the  same  for  themselves.  There 
goes  a  pleasant  story  with  regard  to  this  man.  It  is  said,  after  his 
total  defection,  wishing  to  convince  a  certain  audience  of  the 
enormous  errors  of  the  Hopkinsians,  he  read  them,  as  a  speci- 
men, one  of  his  former  sermons.  I  believe  few  will  wonder  that 
his  audience  should  be  struck  with  horror.  His  poems  fully  in- 
dicate  his  diappointment,   as   they    abound  in   the   well   known 

"  Flair-brained,  sentimental  grace." 

Not  grace  in  Calvin's  sense  of  the  word,  for  neither  his  poems, 
.Contrast,  nor  conduct,  show  much  of  that.  But  whether  the  Hop- 
kinsians have  reason  to  regret  the  cruelty  of  his  mistress,  or  the 
lovers  of  poetry  to  rejoice  in  it,  I  leave  for  future  consideration. 

Perhaps  these  men  will  consider  it  as  a  matter  of  joy  and  ex- 
ultation, that  this  city  has,  from  the  first,  shared  little  in  the 
great  and  frequent  reformations  prevailing  to  the  north  and 
east ;  nor  do  they  consider,  that  the  comparatively  small  num- 
ber of  professors  of  religion  found  in  this  city,  would  be  still 
much  smaller  if  restricted  to  those  whose  profession  commen- 
ced in  this  city. 

Confused,  unsettled,  and  bewildered,  like  all  great  cities, 
with  an  immense  heterogeneous  mass  of  strangers,  of  no  cer- 
tain character,  overwhelmed  in  business,  dazzled  with  wealth 
and  show,  and  occupied  with  every  thing  more  than  religion, 
yet   willing  to  have  enough  of  that  to  be  fashionable  here,  and 


7S 

go  to  heaven  hereafter  at  some  very  distant  day  ;  this  city  has 
ever  afforded  a  field  of  operation  and  influence  for  teachers  of 
a  complexion  like  its  own  ;  and  they  have  not  been  wanting  in 
sufficient  numbers  and  activity.  And  they  have  prevailed  thus 
far,  at  the  dreadful  expense  of  the  eternal  welfare  of  thousands 
of  souls. 

Their  motive,  for  I  will  not  shrink  from  the  truth,  in  exclu- 
ding the  reformers  and  reformations,  the  doctrines  and  principles 
of  New  England  is  not  at  all  of  a  religious  or  moral  nature.  The 
love  of  truth,  as  I  said  above,  does  not  produce  persecution,  en- 
mity, pride,  ill  will,  disdain,  overreaching,  undermining,  in- 
trigue. They  deceive  the  people  of  this  city  by  assuming  false 
and  specious  motives  ;  and  never  was  deception  more  exqui- 
site, more  profound,  or  imposition  more  gross  and  triumphant. 
Were  they  actuated  by  the  love  of  truth  and  the  fear  of  error, 
very  different  would  be  their  aspect  and  behaviour.  But  it  is 
the  love  of  self,  and  the  fear  of  a  rival,  that  urges  them  on.  It 
is  ambition  to  acquire  and  maintain  a  poor,  wretched,  short- 
lived, pitiful,  ghostly  power  and  influence  over  men. 

They  feel  little  of  the  love  of  truth,  or  the  love  of  God,  or 
the  love  of  men,  in  this  unhallowed  system  of  opposition  and 
intrigue.  The  word  of  God  out  of  the  question,  were  they  in- 
fluenced by  human  authorities,  they  might  blush  for  the  course 
they  are  pursuing.  The  names'of  Fuller,  and  Hall,  and  Jay, 
and  Ryland,  are  sufficient  to  show  them,  that  the  sentiments 
they  oppose  are  not  without  the  support  of  talents  and  elo- 
quence beyond  the  Atlantic,  in  a  comparison  with  which,  I 
leave  them  to  find  a  place  for  themselves,  if  they  can. 

It  is  not  the  love  of  truth  by  whicii  they  are  led  ;  they  there- 
fore know,  and  have  studied  well,  the  chequered  part  they  are 
to  act — the  tortuous  course  they  must  pursue.  They  know  in 
what  companies  to  be  all  meekness,  gentleness,  condescension, 
and  humility ;  so  that  a  harmless,  credulous  soul,  will  compare 
one  of  them  to  John  the  beloved  disciple,  another  to  Moses  the 
meek  lawgiver.  They  know  when  and  how  to  burn  witli  de- 
votion ;  to  soar  in  fJights  of  faith  ;  to  appropriate  all  the 
promises  to  themselves  ;  to  knock  at  the  gates  of  heaven  with 
violence,  and  boldly  nemand  a  seat  near  the  filial  throne.  Ah  ! 
7 


74 

says  one,  it  is  surely  Daniel  or  Isaiah  come  from  heaven ;  says 
another,  it  is  a  second  Elijah  in  his  fiery  car ;  or,  says  a  third, 
more  like  St.  Paul  wrapt  in  the  third  heavens.* 

Would  that  I  could  stop  here ;  but  there  is  another  part  of 
this  picture  :  and  in  the  sight  of  heaven  I  will  not  shun  to  de- 
clare the  whole  truth.  As  far  as  I  have  gone,  they  very  often 
hear  from  their  flatterers  : — they  shall  hear  the  rest  from  a 
better  friend  than  a  flatterer.  They  know  when  and  how  to 
change  their  dove-like  plumage  into  scales,  and  their  snowy 
fleece  into  brindled  spots,  and  threatning  fangs.  There  is  but  a 
little  distance  between  a  sigh  and  a  hiss,  or  between  a  smile 
and  a  grin  : — and  once  a  hiss  was  succeeded  by  a  stab.  They 
know  how  to  dart  on  their  victim  like  a  baselisk  from  the  sand, 
or  to  reach  him  like  a  Scythian  with  an  arrow  from  behind  a 
hedge.  A  man  engaged  in  his  own  concerns,  unsuspecting  and  un- 
protected, is  their  favourite  mark.  And  let  the  pubhc  know,  as  there 
is  one  man  who  dares  to  say  what  he  knows,  that  I  have  not  made 
one  of  these  assertions  without  a  correspondent  fact  in  my  eye. 

The  people  of  this  city  are  entitled  to  know  the  grounds  of 
this  whole  business ;  they  ought  to  know  it,  and  they  shall 
know  it,  if  they  will  read.  The  men  in  this  city  who  hold  to 
what  is  usually  styled  New-England  sentiments,  have  entered 
into  no  dispute  with  any  one.  They  have  with  all  possible  en- 
deavors cultivated  the  friendship  and  esteem  of  those  who  dif- 
fered from  them.  They  have  even  generally  avoided  entering 
on  disputed  points,  in  their  own  churches,  that  they  might 
avoid  ail  appearance  of  controversy.  What  has  been  the  con- 
sequence ?  They  have  been  attacked  with  great  virulence  and 
hostility,  and  in  a  manner,  in  short,  which  justifies  every  thing 
which  has  been  said  in  these  numbers. 

But  they  are  accused  of  great  errors.  What  are  their  errors  ? 
Why,  they  hold  to  a  general  atonement.  So  does  a  great  portion 
of  the  protestant  church.  The  sentiment  is  clearly  taught  in  the 
scriptures.  They  cannot  even  show  that  Calvin  himself  held  dif- 
ferently. Most  of  the  standard  writers  since  the  reformation  hold 
the  same.— Well — they  deny  original  sin-  This  is  not  true. 
They  deny  imputation  of  guilt  ^nd  a  transfer  of  character ;  and 

One  of  them  has  been  denominated  the  St.  Paul  of  America. 


75 

SO  did  Calvin.  And  if  any  one  will  examine  the  opinion  of  the 
reformers,  together  with  their  confessions  of  faith,  he  will  per- 
ceive the  doctrine  of  imputation  by  no  means  prevalent  or  ge- 
neral among  them.  They  held  to  the  original  and  entire  cor- 
ruption of  human  nature,  by  the  fall,  and  so  do  we. 

In  a  word,  the  preceding  remarks  apply  with  equal  force 
also  to  the  doctrine  of  depravity.  But,  why  is  all  this  uproar  ? 
A  majority  of  the  Synod  of  New-York  and  New-Jersy  are 
full  in  the  sentiments  I  have  advanced.  And  will  these  people 
unchurch  the  Synod,  and  turn  them  out  of  doors  ?  The  Gene- 
ral Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  may  be  nearly  equally 
divided ;  though,  in  that  body,  the  number  in  favour  of  what  I 
consider  correct  sentiments  is  rapidly  increasing. 

In  a  general  survey  of  the  protestant  church  in  America, 
these  men  cannot  pretend  to  a  majority.  But  having  acquired 
a  little  influence  in  this  city,  their  arrogance  and  presumption 
seem  inclined  to  leap  over  all  bounds.  Were  they  inclined  to 
fair  and  open  controvesy,  they  would  be  answered  to  their  sa- 
tisfaction; but  they  desire  no  such  thing.  Their  plan  and 
their  hope  is  by  manceuvring,  by  secret  working  behind  the 
curtain,  by  art  and  intrigue,  to  undermine  the  reputation  of  the 
men  who  hold  to  the  sentiments  which  prevail  in  New-England, 
and  drive  them  from  the  city. 

The  question  is,  whether  they  will  succeed.  All  triumph, 
short  of  the  triumph  of  truth  and  righteousness,  is  as  short- 
lived as  it  is  impotent  and  vain.  There  was  a  day  when  the 
parasites  of  Hildebrand  adored  him  as  the  vicegerant  of  Christ, 
and  as  the  Lord  of  men's  consciences.  We  may  turn  to  the 
page  of  history,  which  represents  him  parading  through  the 
streets  of  Rome  like  a  blazing  star  ;  the  triple  diadem  sparkling 
on  his  head,  and  the  imperial  purple  floating  from  his  should- 
ers. The  thrones  of  Europe  shook  when  he  frowned;  and 
monarchs  were  obsequious  to  his  powerful  mandate.  There, 
one  would  be  ready  to  say,  was  solid  food  for  ambition  ;  there 
was  an  object  worthy  of  toil  and  intrigue.  But  he  vanished 
like  a  dream  !  Ages  have  rolled  away  since  he  went  to  his  final 
audit,  before  that  God  who  respects  not   the   persons   of  princes. 


76 

"  I  saw  the  wealthy  wicked  boast, 
"  Till  at  thy  frown  he  fell ; 
"  His  honours  in  a  dream  are  lost, 
"  And  he  awakes  in  hell." 

Is  there  a  menial  slave,  of  piety  and  virtue,  who  followed  at  a 
distance  the  chariot  of  Gregory  the  Seventh,  whose  character 
and  destiny  any  christian  would  not  prefer  to  that  of  this  spi- 
ritual tyrant? 

The  worst  that  can  befal  an  ambitious  spirit,  is  to  succeed  in 
his  utmost  plans  and  wishes.  But,  whether  he  fail  or  succeed, 
he  is  more  an  object  of  pity  than  resentment.  And  from  my 
soul  I  pity  these  busy  men,  the  very  vital  principle  of  whose 
scheme  is  selfishness  and  ambition  ;  for,  could  they  achieve 
what  they  aim  at,  it  is  but  the  tinsel  of  power,  spread  thinner 
than  ever  the  gold  beater  spread  his  leaf;  could  they  gain  all 
they  seek  for,  and  for  which  they  dig,  and  climb,  and  creep,  and 
whisper,  and  trim;  for  which  they  have  in  store  a  thousand 
smiles,  and  frowns,  and  sighs,  and  hisses,  and  winks,  and  nods, 
and  flatteries,  and  threats,  it  would  all  evaporate  in  a  few  blasts 
of    applause,  not  made  of  the  purest  breath;  it  would  perish 

"  Like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision, 
"  And  leave  not  a  wreck  behind." 

But,  should  it  be  seriously  asked  what  evidence  there  is  that 
ambition  is  at  the  bottom  of  this  conduct  ;  I  reply,  that  this, 
and  this  only,  is  sufficient  to  account  for  what  they  do  ;  God  is 
love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth  in  God  and  God  in  him. 
The  whole  conduct  of  these  men  is  such  as  might  be  expected 
from  an  ambitious  man,  labouring  to  supplant  his  rival  and  enemy. 
They  show  no  love  nor  condescension — no  meekness  nor  humility 
— no  openness  nor  magnanimity.  If  you  condescend,  they  vapour 
— if  you  resist,  they  are  enraged — if  you  retreat,  they  pursue — 
and  if  you  submit,  they  triumph. 

Ambition,  always  vain,  was  never  vainer  than  in  this  case. 
What  if  they  triumph  ?  There  is  not  the  splended  charriot,  the 
triumphal  arch,  the  adoring  millions ;  there  is  not  the  crown  of 
Hildebrand,  heavy  with  gold  and  gems — his    splendid  throne  and 


77 

imperial  robes,  in  expectance.  Nor  does  this  base  contention 
portend  a  crown  in  heaven,  or  celestial  robes  of  light  and 
glory. 

The  sincere  friend  of  truth  may  humbly  repose  his  confi- 
dence in  the  God  of  truth,  though  his  foes  are  numerous,  strong, 
and  active.  And  I  place  full  confidence  in  the  belief,  that  cor- 
rect sentiments  will  prevail — that  they  will  not  be  rooted  out  of 
this  city.  Neither  the  pitchy,  midnight  cloud  of  the  eleventh, 
nor  the  early  dawn  of  the  sixteenth  century  are  to  return  ;  nor 
are  the  discoverers  and  improvers  of  the  eighteenth  century  to 
be  compelled,  like  Gallileo  and  Copernicus,  to  retract  their  dis- 
coveries, in  order  that  the  champions  of  selfishness  may  rule 
the  church  a  little  longer.  Civil  rulers  have  learned  that  they 
can  make  shift  to  wield  the  sword  and  sceptre,  and  are  in  no 
dread  of  a  peal  of  thunder  from  the  Vatican  ;  nor  are  they  in 
need  of  monks  and  inquisitors  at  their  elbow,  to  point  out  the 
victims  of  the  mother  of  harlots.  The  amusements  of  the 
auto-de-fe  are  past ;  and,  as  for  the  ghostly  lords  and  umpires  of 
conscience,  they  are  never  more  to  return.  The  faithful  wit- 
nesses of  truth  are  no  more  dragged  to  the  anvil,  that  their 
chains  and  fetters  may  be  made  fast ;  nor  are  these  moral  black- 
smiths longer  to  rivet  their  fetters  on  the  mind,  made  for  free  and 
liberal  discussion. 

But,  defeated  as  Satan  and  his  angels,   and  all  his  legions  of 
spiritual  despots,  emissaries,  and  abettors   are — dislodged   from 
their  main  fortresses — driven   from  the  open  field,   and   ferreted 
from  glens,  coverts,   and  fastnesses,   it  is  astonishing  to   see  the 
activity,  the    incredible  zeal,    boldness,  and    desperation  of  their 
expiring   eflforts.     They  can  no    more    endure    the    light   than 
ghosts  and  goblins  can   abide  the  approach  of  morning ;  it  dis- 
closes  their   frightful  features,  and  pierces    them  through   with 
intolerable  pain.     Yet,   in  their  ardour  to  maintain  even  a  hair- 
breath  of  ground,   or  perhaps   to    bring  off  the  body  of  Patro- 
clus,  or  some  hero  slain,  they  forget  that  they  can  do  nothing 
but  in  darkness,  and  bolt  fairly  out  into  open  day.     What  do  we 
see  ? — Their  whole  panoply  ! — You  might  nearly  take  their  de- 
scription from  Ossian's  cloudy  ghost :    "  Their  sword  is  a  pale 
meteor,    without    edge    or    point — their    spear    is    mist" — their 


78 

breastplate  made  of  something  which  shines  in  the  night  like 
burning  gold,*  now  appears  a  miserable  patch  of  rotton  wood. 
Their  helmet  is  paper,  whose  only  virtue  is  derived  from  some 
great  name,  such  as  CALVIN,  written  on  it  in  capitals.  Yet 
their  countenance  is  very  fierce,  and  smoke  issues  from  their 
mouth  and  nostrils.  Did  you  not  see  their  weapons,  you  might 
expect  a  terrible  conflict  ;  and,  as  it  is,  they  will  make  a  stout 
resistance  to  every  thing  but  "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which 
is  the   word  of  God." 

I  fully  anticipate  all  that  will  be  said  of  these  remarks  ;  the 
contemptuous  slang  of  Arminianism !  Socinianism  !  Ribaldry  ! 
Slander  !  that  will  be  thrown  out.  But,  that  reason  which  ren  - 
ders  man  the  lord  of  this  terrestrial  globe,  and  which  continually 
strives  to  rescue  him  from  the  reign  of  his  passions  and  preju- 
dices, if  allowed  to  speak,  will  show  the  reader  that  my  pre- 
mises are  true  ;  and,  as  for  the  conclusions,  I  wait  for  time  and 
experience,  those  grand  correctors  of  folly,  to  justify  them. 
That  tribunal  before  which  I  am  perfectly  certain  this  produc- 
tion will  fare  the  best,  will  be  the  consciences  of  the  very  men  I 
accuse  ;  for  they  well  know  I  speak  the  truth.  Were  they,  in- 
deed, as  ardently  engaged  in  promoting  truth,  as  they  are  error ; 
in  removing  old  prejudices,  as  they  are  in  supporting  them ;  in 
promoting  the  spread  of  light  and  reformation,  as  they  are  in 
extinguishing  the  one,  and  resisting  the  other,  still  using  the 
means  to  do  it  which  they  are  using,  they  would  have  reason  to 
be  ashamed  of  their  conduct,  and  would  merit  the  disapprobation 
of  all  men  ;  for  the  end  cannot  sanctify  the  means. 

The  cause  of  Jesus  Christ,  important  and  glorious  in  its  nature, 
divine  in  its  origin,  and  pure  in  its  principles,  uniform  and  resist- 
less in  its  progress,  and  secure  of  its  final  issue,  asks  no  assistance 
from  those  artifices  by  which  the  schemes  of  ambition  are  accom- 
plished, much  less  does  it  fear  those  artifices,  or  the  more  bold 
attacks  of  wicked  men.  And  it  will  progress  and  prosper  ;  nei- 
ther shall  the  gates  of  hell  prevail  against  it.  Let  these  men  con- 
tinue to  plot  and  whisper ;  let  them  summon  to  their  aid  their 
sharpest  satire  and  best  logic — their  boldest  assertions,  and  most 
pious  tones,  still  their  scheme  is  not  on  the  ground  of  truth,  and 

*  Foxfire. 


79 

it  will  not  stand.  After  having  wasted  their  wit  on  phantoms  of 
their  own  creation,  their  zeal  in  vain  efforts,  and  all  their  mighty- 
resources  in  building  castles  in  the  air,  they  must  at  last  bow 
to  the  truth  in  those  solemn  scenes,  where  the  illusions  of 
ambition  are  not  known,  and  where  the  adorations  of  a  multi- 
tude, led  on  by  sophistry  and  intrigue,  can  no  longer  give  coun- 
tenance. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


TO 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


I  HAD  almost  concluded  to  issue  this  Triangle,  which 
the  reader  will  perceive  is  the  true  and  real  Triangle? 
without  any  address,  advertisement,  ad  lectorem,  or  preface ; 
but  I  feared  it  would  resemble  a  door  without  a  threshold, 
or  a  building  without  a  courtyard  or  portico.  It  is  not 
worth  while  for  a  writer  to  say  much  about  his  motives 
in  his  preface.  It  would  be  like  a  man  who  was  con- 
ducting you  into  a  Museum,  who  should  stop  you  at  the 
door  to  tell  you  what  was  to  be  seen :  it  would  be  quicker 
work  to  let  you  in.  And  Johnson's  saying,  that  a  book 
will  fix  its  own  age  and  country,  is  generally  true. 

This  book  is  not  a  "  Habeas  corpus  ad  respondendum,^^ 
but  rather  a  Hahehunt  corpora  ad  vivendum.  I  fear  the 
lawyers  will  not  comprehend  this  phrase,  but  the  divines 
will,  "  and  that  will  do,^^  as  the  great  Wellington  said 
when  he  laid  his  hands  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle.  The 
Hopkinsians  are  a  very  clever  set  of  men  ;  all  they  want 
is  to  live,  and  "  let  hve."  They  are  disinterestedly  be- 
nevolent. They  wish  people  to  know  the  truth,  merely 
for  the  truth's  sake.  They,  to  be  sure,  do  not  wish  all 
their  necks  to  be   made  into  one,  and  that  put  at  the 


83 

option  of  Nero.  A  Dey  of  Algiers  once  put  the  Spanish 
Ambassador  into  a  great  mortar,  and  shot  him  away  at 
the  Spanish  fleet.  Now,  no  man  likes  to  be  sent  out 
of  a  city  in  this  style.  I  use  these  little  metaphors  to 
convey  my  ideas  :  nobody  believes  that  we  have  a  Nero 
or  the  Dey  of  Algiers  to  contend  with  ;  but  we  perceive 
they  aim  at  thorough  icork,  and  that  in  a  summary  way  ; 
we  must,  therefore,   do  a  little — hence  the  Triangle. 


THE  TRIANGLE. 


SECOND  SERIES. 


No.  I. 

I  FEEL  a  concious  pleasure  in  addressing  the  people  of  this 
noble  and  flourishing  city — the  first  in  the  New  World,  and  the 
fairest  on  the  globe.  And  let  it  not  be  understood  that  I  con- 
sider myself  as  environed  with  cross-eyed  selfishness;  as  im- 
mured in  a  region  of  gloomy  prejudice;  as  condemned  to  wear 
.he  galling  chams  forged  by  iron-hearted  intolerance,  and  rivet- 
ed by  the  hand  of  sturdy  ignorance.  Of  these  imperious  and 
unsightly  demons  I  feel  no  fear ;  yet  1  revere  and  admire  the 
varied  talents  I  see  conspicuous  in  every  profession  and  call- 
ing, in  every  art  and  science,  both  liberal  and  mechanical — 

"  Where  Liberty  dwells,  there  is  my  country." 

There  is  not  wanting  liberality  of  sentiment,  magnanimity  of 
character  ;  nor  is  this  city  wanting  in  its  portion — nor  is  it  a  scant- 
ed and  measured  portion  of  intellect,  adorned  with  the  beauty 
of  virtue,  enlightened  with  the  glory  of  benevolence,  and  fairly 
loosened  from  the  gordian  knot  of  interest  and  selfish  conside- 
ration. And  I  rejoico  to  say,  that  many  whose  theory  allows 
them  but  a  cable's  length  of  range,  are,  nevertheless,  in  heart 
and  practice,  floating  at  large  on  the  main  ocean  of  real  benevo- 
lence. 


84 

Else  why  do  I  see  these  asylums  for  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  affliction — these  grand  and  extensive  hospitals,  alms-houses, 
and  receptacles  for  every  class  of  the  wretched  from  the  keen 
and  blighting  storm  of  misfortune,  whose  extended  and  lofty 
walls  might  vie  with  the  palace  of  a  monarch  1  whose  nume- 
rous apartments,  and  ample  provisions,  seem  to  promise  repose 
and  comfort  to  all  that  need  ?  Else  why  do  I  see  long  ranks  of 
poor  children,  of  helpless  orphans,  enfilading  the  streets,  to  be 
instructed  on  the  sabbath  ;  and  that  by  gentlemen,  and  even 
ladies,  of  rank  and  fortune,  whose  only  remuneration  is  the 
pleasing  consciousness  of  benefiting  such  as,  by  their  tender 
and  helpless  years,  can  have  no  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  the 
benefit  intended  ? 

There  is  a  nobleness  of  soul,  a  grandeur  of  sentiment,  a  dis- 
interestedness of  heart,  which  soars  as  far  above  all  considera- 
tion of  self  as  the  heavens  are  above  the  earth.  An  hour's  en- 
joyment of  that  sublime  pleasure  is  worth  more  than  a  Koman 
triumph — more  than  all  the  years  through  which  ambition  toils 
and  climbs,  even  though  it  gain  the  summit.  There  is  such  a 
thing  as  doing  good  for  the  sake  of  the  pleasure  it  brings  ;  and  he 
who  knows  not  what  that  means  is  a  stranger  to  pleasure. 
Let  me  here,  for  the  sake  of  those  who  have  never  read  it,  re- 
peat the  story  of  Carazan  ;  and  which,  though  I  cannot  reach  the 
style  of  its  author,  and  may  give  it  but  imperfectly,  (having  no 
book  before  me,)  may  furnish  a  useful  lesson  to  some  who  may 
read  it. 

Carazan  was  the  richest  merchant  in  Bagdat,  with  no  chil- 
dren or  dependants  ;  his  expenses  had  been  small,  and,  with  a 
prosperous  run  of  busines  in  the  silk  and  diamond  trade  of  In- 
dia for  many  years,  he  had  amassed  immense  trea  sures.  He 
met  with  no  losses,  his  caravans  were  expeditious,  traded  with 
success,  and  returned  in  safety.  One  enterprise  made  way  for 
another ;  every  successive  project  was  formed  on  a  greater 
scale,  and  all  were  terminated  with  success.  Business  was 
swayed  by  his  influence  ;  merchants  depended  on  his  will ;  no- 
bles and  princes  envied  his  magnificence,  and  even  the  caliph 
feared  his  power. 


85 

But  Carazan  lived  only  for  himself.  His  maxim  was  never 
to  move  but  with  a  prospect  of  advantage.  He  never  gave  to 
the  poor ;  he  never  listened  to  the  cries  of  distress  ;  calls  on  his 
beneficence  were  repelled  with  a  frown,  and  the  poor  had  long 
learned  to  shun  his  dwelling. 

But  the  city  was  suddenly  surprised  with  a  great  change  in 
his  conduct.  He  removed  to  a  principal  square,  in  the  centre 
of  the  city,  and  made  proclamation  to  all  the  poor  to  resort  to 
his  palace.  They  flocked  together  by  hundreds,  and  by  thou- 
sands ;  and  what  was  their  surprise  to  find  his  halls  set  out  with 
tables  loaded  with  provisions  ;  and  such  things  as  were  most 
Reeded  were  dispersed  in  his  porches  and  courtyards,  and  in 
the  adjoining  streets.  People  of  all  ranks  were  astonished,  but 
could  form  no  estimate  of  the  motive  of  all  this  liberality  and 
profusion. 

On  the  second  day  Carazan  made  his  appearance,  and  mount, 
ing  a  scaflfold,  raised  for  the  purpose,  he  beckoned  with  his 
hand,  and  the  murmer  of  applause  and  admiration  suddenly 
ceased. 

"  People  of  Bagdat,"  said  he,  "  I  have  hitherto  lived  to  my- 
self, henceforth  I  intend  to  live  for  the  good  of  others.  Listen 
attentively  to  the  cause  of  the  change  yon  see.  As  I  was  sit- 
ting in  my  counting  room,  and  meditating  on  future  schemes 
of  accumulating  more  wealth,  I  fell  asleep  ;  immediately  I  saw 
the  angel  of  death  approaching  me  Hke  a  whirlwind,  and,  ere  I 
had  time  for  recollection,  he  struck  me  with  his  dart.  My 
soul  instantly  forsook  my  body,  and  I  found  myself  at  the  bar 
of  the  Almighty.  A  dreadful  voico  from  the  judgment  seat 
addressed  me  thus;  *  You  have  lived  entirely  for  yourself;  you 
have  done  no  good  to  others,  and,  for  your  punishment,  God 
ordains  that  you  be  eternally  banished  from  all  society.'  By 
a  resistless  power  I  felt  myself  driven  from  the  throne,  and 
carried,  with  inconceivable  swiftness,  through  the  heavens. 
Suns  and  systems  passed  me,  and  in  a  moment  1  was  on  the 
borders  of  creation.  The  shadows  of  boundless  vacuity  be- 
gan to  frown  and  deepen  before  a  dreadful  region  of  eternal 
silence,  solitude,  and  darkness.  In  another  moment  the  faint- 
est ray  of  creation  expired,  and  I  was  lost  for  ever. 
8 


86 

''  1  Stretched    out  my  hands  towards  the  regions  of  existence? 
and  implored   the  Lord  of   creation  to   change    my  punishment 
if  it  were  but  to  the  torments  of  the  damned,   that    I    might  es- 
cape that  frightful  solitude ;  but   my  horror  was  too  dreadful  for 
a  moment's  endurance  and  I  awoke.     I  adore    the    goodness    of 
the  great  Father  w^ho  has  thus  taught   me   the   value  of  society, 
\vhile  he  allows  me  time  to   taste  the   pleasures  of  doing  good." 
I  am  not  about  to  improve  this   story  by  recommending   it  to 
my  reader  to    dream  for   the   sake  of  reformation.       Indeed,  I 
would  hope  there  are  no  Carazans    in  the  city  ;  and  yet   I  can- 
not but    fear   there    are  some   to  whom  so   pungent    a   dream 
would  be  very  useful.     Dreams  will  come  when  they  will,    and 
I  am  not  certain  I  shall  not  have  a  paroxysm  of  'dreaming  be- 
fore I  get  through   these    numbers.      But  there  is    a  mode  of 
gaining  information  at    the  option  of  every  person,    and    that    I 
^am    about    to  recommend — I  mean  reading.       Every   person,  it 
is  well  known,  has  not  leisure  for   general    reading,   but    every 
person  can  read  enough  to   answer  the  purpose  of  the  present 
recommendation.      The   unhappy    prejudice  subiisting    in     this 
city    against    New-England     sentiments  would    infallibly  yield, 
and   be  completely   dissipated   by    a    proper   acquaintance   with 
the   books   in   which   those  sentiments    are    contained.       These 
prejudices  have  not  been  planted  so    deep,   and  cherished   with 
such  vigour,  by  the  perusal  of  books,  but  by    deriving   an  ac- 
count of  their  books  and   tenets   through   a   medium    which    has 
given  them  a   stain    foreign  to  their  nature.     It  has  been   done 
by  perversion. 

True,  indeed,  a  mind  already  prepossessed,  and  strongly 
opinionated  in  error,  may  not  be  convinced  by  reading  a  book 
wherein  the  truth  is  stated.  But  even  this  will  not  hold  good 
as  a  general  rule,  and  in  application  to  great  bodies  of  people. 
The  public  mind,  depraved  as  men  are,  will,  generally,  soon 
get  right  where  the  proper  means  of  information  are  affordcd. 
I  earnestly  recommend  to  the  people  of  the  city  to  direct 
their  attention  to  some  of  the  books  I  shall  hereafter  name. 
They  may  rest  assured  that,  even  provided  they  should  begin 
to  read  them  with  prejudice  and  disgust,  they  will  end  with 
pleasure  and  conviction  ;  will  rise  up  from  the  perusal   acknow- 


87 

iedging  themselves  instructed  and  cured  of  their  antipathy. 
They  may  be  assured  that  those  persons  whom  they  hear  dai- 
ly condemning  those  writings,  have  never  read  them.  They 
are  imposed  upon  in  this  business,  and  their  creduhty  is  shame- 
fully abused.  They  are  exactly  like  the  man  I  have  heard  of 
within  a  day  or  two,  who  was  strongly  condemning  the  Trian- 
gle, and  a  person  present  asked  him  if  he  had  read  it  ;  he  said 
no,  but  had  his  account  from  Mr.  Honeygall  :  well,  but  had 
Mr.  Honeygall  read  it  ?  Why  no,  he  had  not  read  it,  because  he 
would  not  read  so  huge  a  thing  ;  it  would  be  wicked  to  read  it. 
(Aside.)     He  never  reads  any  thing. 

So,  reader,  it  is  just  as  wicked  for  these  sage  censors  of 
books  to  read  the  New-England  books  ;  and  my  word  for  it? 
they  have  not  that  sin  to  answer  for.  I  ask  the  great  and 
learned  Dr.  Buckram,  (not  that  there  is  any  such  man  in  reality, 
I  only  use  that  name  in  a  kind  of  allegorical  or  metaphysical 
sense  ;)  I  ask  him  whether  he  has  ever  read  "  Edwards  on  the 
Will  ?"   Ha  !  he  must  think  of  it. 

I  must  here  let  the  good  people  into  a  secret  of  us  book- 
men which,  pe  rhaps,  they  don't  know.  It  is  the  practice  of 
some  great  readers,  when  they  have  read  the  title  of  a  book  and 
its  contents,  and  cut  into  a  paragraph  here  and  there,  to  say 
they  have  read  it ;  nor  do  they  think  it  lying.  Some,  I  believe, 
venture  so  far  as  to  say  they  have  read  a  book,  when  they  have 
only  read  the  letters  on  the  back  side  :  but  that  is  going  too  far  : 
I  never  do  that. 

A  powerful  appeal  lies  from  this  subject  to  the  patriotic  feel- 
ings of  every  American.  Were  any  of  us  in  France  or  Eng- 
land, and  should  hear  them  commending  the  writers  of  our 
own  country,  we  should  feel  a  secret  gratification  arising  from 
our  national  attachment  ;  we  should  feel  it  an  honour  done  to 
ourselves  ;  and  so  it  would  be.  We  feel  a  pleasure  in  hearing 
the  greatness  of  Washington,  the  talents  of  Franklin  and  Rit- 
tenhouse,  extolled.  Every  American  is  gratified  at  hearing  the 
eloquent  Chatham  declare,  in  the  British  parliament,  the  Ame- 
rican Congress  to  be  one  of  the  noblest  bodies  of  men  ever  as- 


88 

sembled.*  We  are  not  backward  to  assert  the  equality,  if  rrot 
the  ascendency,  of  our  naval  and  military  character.  We  boast 
of  our  inventions  in  the  arts — of  our   success  in    manufactures. 

And  vi^ith  such  varied  excellence  of  talent,  would  it  not  be 
extraordinary  if,  in  the  theological  department,  something  im- 
portant and  respectable  had  not  been  achieved  1  The  fame  of 
exhibiting  to  the  world  the  first  perfect  experiment  of  religious 
freedom  and  toleration  cannot  be  denied  us ;  and  Europe  her- 
self has  enrolled  and  immortalized  the  name  of  our  first  theo- 
logical writer.  Is  the  thought  incredible  that  such  a  man  as 
Edwards  should  kindle  the  genius  and  rouse  the  talents  of  his 
countrymen  1  He  did  it ;  and  has  been  followed  by  a  constella- 
tion of  divines  and  writers  on  theology,  to  whom,  if  the  imma- 
turity of  our  seminaries  denied  the  most  perfect  clasical  ex- 
cellence, nature  had  not  denied  intellectual  powers  of  the  first 
order,  and  posterity  will  not  deny  the  honour  of  the  first  grade 
of  usefulness  and  importance  in  their  profession. 

The  perusal  of  their  writings,  by  the  people  of  this  city,  will 
be  attended  with  several  good  effects  which  I  shall  particular- 
ly distinguish. 

1.  It  will  diminish,  if  not  exterminate,  their  prejudices  against 
New  Divinity.  For  they  will  be  surprised  to  find  their  great 
and  leading  doctrines,  such  as  a  general  atonement,  &;c.,  to  be 
the  same  as  taught  by  the  ablest  and  most  orthodox  divines 
since  the  reformation.  The  notion  of  moral  inability  was  ne- 
ver a  fabrication  of  the  New-England  divines  ;  they  will  find,  in 
the  clearest  and  best  writers  of  England,  the  same  idea. 

2.  They  will  find  themselves  instructed  and  pleased.  Books 
and  Essays  written,  and  Sermons  delivered,  in  places  where 
the  work  of  God  is  carried  on,  cannot  but  derive  an  unction,  a 
life  and  spirit,  from  the  occasions  that  gave  them  birth.  As  the 
face  of  Moses  shone  when  he  descended  from  Sinai's  glorious 
vision,  so  men  greatly  employed  and  honoured  in  the  work  of 
God,  will  transfuse  through  their  writings  the  spirit  of  that 
work. 

*  At  the  commencement  of  the  revolutioiK 


89 

It  is  a  mournful  fact,  and  will  one  day  be  as  deeply  deplored 
by  those  who  have  done  it,  as  by  those  against  whom  it  has 
been  done,  that  the  standard  of  opposition  against  those  men 
and  their  writings  should  be  lifted  in  New- York  :  that  this  high- 
ly-favoured city  should  be  made  the  opposing  bulwark — the 
breastwork  of  opposition.  I  rejoice  to  think  that  such  walls  as 
men  build  are  not  high,  nor  their  foundations  deep.  I  have 
no  fear  for  the  ultimate  success  of  truth  ;  but  I  fear  for  those  who 
are  opposing  its  progress — especially  for  those  who  are  held 
in  darkness  by  the  craft  and  ambition  of  others.  The  chariot 
of  salvation  will  not  be  impeded ;  it  is  guided  by  one  who  can 
save  and  can  destroy. 

It  shall  be  the  object  of  this  Number  to  state  to  the  good 
people  of  this  city,  and  of  the  country  and  nation,  wherever 
these  presents  shall  come,  what  documents,  and  books,  and  wri- 
tiiigs — in  short,  what  resources  may  be  resorted  to,  in  order  to 
discover  what  those  sentiments  are  which  are  falsely  called  new 
diviniliy,  and,  very  unappropriately,  Hopkinsianism.  To  this  I 
now  solicit  the  reader's  attention. 

Jonathan  Edwards,  I  have  elsewhere  said,  was  the  great  mas- 
ter spirit  of  his  day.  Perhaps  no  man  ever  evinced  more  ca- 
paciousness of  understanding  and  strength  of  intellect  than  he. 
This  is  the  opinion  of  very  competent  judges,  and  probably  will 
not  be  denied.  His  writings  are  numerous,  among  which  his 
Inquiry  concerning  the  Will  was  his  greatest  production,  and 
may  be  considered  as  forming  the  basis  of  the  distinguishing 
tenets  of  New-England  divinity,  as  far  as  it  contains  any  dis- 
tinctive features.  Of  this  I  have  spoken  in  the  former  series. 
After  this,  his  work  on  Religious  Affections  may  perhaps  be 
next  in  point  of  importance.  Had  this  been  the  only  book  he 
published,  it  would  have  rendered  his  name  immortal.  On  this 
ground,  explored  by  thousands  of  writers,  he  was  often  original, 
generally  interesting,  and  always  unanswerable.  His  History  of 
Redemption,  a  work  left  immature,  was  sufficient  to  show  the 
force  and  splendour  of  his  talents.  Various  other  important 
works  were  also  published  by  him,  which  brevity  forbids  me  to 
enumerate ;  but  his  numerous  sermons,  as  many  of  them  were 
delivered  in  periods  o(  religous  revival,  and  were  more  bleassed 
8* 


90 

as  instrumental  to  that  great  work,  if  we  except  WhitefieldV,. 
than  any  ever  delivered  in  this  country,  are  without  all  parallel 
among  American  sermons ;  and  for  depth  of  thought,  force  of 
argument,  and  brilliance  of  imagination  ;  for  a  magestic  display  of 
truth,  solemnity  of  address,  and  power  to  arrest  the  conscience, 
they  have  never  been  surpassed.  He  had  the  rare  talent  of  uni- 
ting metaphysical  discussion  with  practical  and  experimental 
truth;  of  appealing  with  equal  force  and  propriety  to  the  un- 
derstanding and  to  the  passions. 

The  style  of  Edwards  is  plain  and  simple,  and  evinces  to  the 
judicious  reader  the  progress  of  a  gigantic  mind  moving  through 
fields  of  truth  careless  of  the  artificial  adjustment  and  fastidious 
polish  of  diction.  That  inelegancies  may  be  discovered  in  his 
style,  I  certainly  will  not  deny.  But  when  those  who  dare  ac- 
cuse him  of  "  verbiage"  can  show  equal  vigour  of  intellect, 
let  them  boast.  When  those  who  dare  censure  his  preaching 
as  unprofitable  can  show  equal  trophies  of  success,  let  them 
triumph. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  say  that  Edwards  was  correct  in  all  his 
sentiments,  a  felicity  which  rarely  falls  to  the  lot  of  a  volumi- 
nous writer.  Even  Calvin  was  not  correct  in  every  thing. 
Neither  do  I  pretend  or  wish  to  say  that  he  agreed  in  every  point 
with  those  who  since  his  day  are  denominated  Hopkinsians. 
But  I  will  say  to  every  reader,  if  be  will  read  Edwards  on  the  Will 
— on  Religious  Affections — on  Redemption — on  God's  Last 
End  in  the  Creation  of  the  World — on  Moral  Virtue — on  Revi- 
vals of  Religion — and  various  points  discussed  in  his  sermons,  he 
wdll  have  before  him  some  hooks  and  some  documents  whereby 
to  judge  of  Hopkinsian  tenets. 

Samuel  Hopkins,  whose  dreaded  and  execrated  name  is  so 
often  pronounced  v;ith  strange  horror  by  thousands  of  people 
who  never  read  a  page  of  his  writings,  so  often  held  up  to  cen- 
sure and  obloquy  by  an  equal  number  of  men  who  boast  of 
having  read  iiis  works,  but  are  equally  ignorant  of  what  they 
contain — Samuel  Hopkins  wrote  and  published  a  Body  of  Divi- 
nity. I  shall  here  say  little  of  this  work ;  it  is  sold  in  several 
bookstores,  and  is  in  many  libraries  of  this  city.  I  may  safely 
say,  however,  that  it  is  one  of  the  noblest  bodies  of  divinity  ia 


91 

the  English  language  ;  and  Iwill  venture  to  predict  that  it  willstan  d 
as  high  on  the  the  shelves  of  future  libraries,  and  be  regarded  as  a 
work  of  as  much  utility  and  merit,  as  Pictete,  Ridgely,  and  Tur- 
retin,  when  the  ignorant  and  maniacal  rage  against  Hopkinsian- 
ism  shall  have  subsided  ;  and  especially  when  it  shall  have  the 
good  fortune  to  be  judged  by  those  who  have  read  it. 

With  regard  to  the  leading  sentiments  of  Hopkins,  they  do 
not  differ  materially  trom  the  most  approved  and  orthodox  di- 
vines, and  the  most  eminent  and  standard  writers  since  the  re- 
formation. Hopkins  surely  did  not  agree  with  them  in  every 
point,  nor  did  any  two  important  writers,  that  ever  wrote,  agree 
in  all  points.  Luther,  Calvin,  Melancthon,  Beza,  Zuinglius, 
Bucer,  Carolstadt,  all  differed  from  each  other  ;  nor  less  did  Bax- 
ter, Flavel,  Owen,  Watts,  Doddridge,  &:c.  differ.  With  reverence 
be  it  spoken,  even  Mason,  Ely,  Romeyn,  aifd  Milldoler,  do  not 
agree  in  all  points. 

Beside  a  body  of  divinity,  Hopkins  wrote  various  tracts  and 
sermons,  in  all  of  which  the  grand  and  fundamental  truths  of 
religion  are  judiciously  and  ably  handled.  As  a  faithful  minis- 
ter of  Christ,  a  public  teacher,  and  an  elementary  writer  on  the- 
ological and  moral  subjects,  the  American  church  has  had  few 
more  useful  or  more  distinguished  men.  His  style  is  plain,  un- 
ornamented,  and  simple ;  with  less  strength  and  originality  of 
conception  than  Edwards,  his  style  verged  nearer  towards  neat- 
ness and  precision.  In  reading  his  pages  you  do  not  perceive 
inanity  of  mind  carefully  concealed  by  an  elaborate  texture  of 
smooth  and  spider's-web  phrases  ;  nor  an  eternal  and  dead  level 
of  common  places  solemnly  trimmed  with  insipid  pomp,  and 
the  soporific  monotony  of  easy  periods,  rounded  as  regularly 
as  a  thousand  rolls  of  gingerbread.  He  wrote  like  a  man  of 
sense,  who  dared  to  think  for  himself,  like  a  man  of  thought,  who 
was  master  of  his  subject ;  like  a  man  of  piety,  who  regarded 
the  truth  ;  and  if  sometimes  he  justifies  the  suspicion  of  affect- 
ing to  trace  new  paths,  to  launch  into  new  speculations,  show 
me  the  writer  of  eminence  who  is  not  more  or  less  susceptible 
of  that  kind  of  ambition,  or  whose  powers  of  mind  rendered 
similar  endeavours  more  successful,  and,  of  course,  more  war- 
rantable. 


92 

After  Edwards  and  Hopkins,  Bellamy  may  next  be  noticed 
as  a  writer  of  the  same  order,  or  school,  if  you  please.  His 
principal  work  is  True  Religion  Delineated.  Though  this 
book  is  doubtless  not  received  as  a  piece  of  divine  inspiration, 
yet  it  is  considered  by  many  as  a  standard  work  :  and  such  it 
ought  to  be,  and  will  be  considered,  where  true  religion  is  un- 
derstood, and  where  the  reign  of  prejudice  is  not  completely 
established.  After  this,  his  Dialogues  on  Theron  and  Aspasio, 
and  The  Glory  of  the  Gospel,  are  works  of  high  and  distin- 
guished merit. 

Beside  these,  Bellamy  published  various  tracts  and  sermons, 
much  in  the  same  strain  of  sentiment ;  and  though  certainly  not 
to  be  admired  as  models  of  style  and  composition,  they  are  on 
a  level  with  the  writings  of  the  most  pious  and  orthodox  di- 
vines. Few  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  more  able,  faithful,. 
or  successful,  in  the  day  in  which  he  lived,  or  since  his  time  ;  or 
more  honoured  by  Christ  as  the  visible  instrument  of  turning 
many  to  righteousness. 

Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  the  son  of  the  President,  who  was 
himself  also  President  of  Union  College,  did  honour  to  his  coun- 
try ;  and  if  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  one  nation  should 
produce  more  than  one  man  equal  to  his  father  ;  if  it  was  impos- 
sible for  him  to  raise,  yet  he  sustained  the  name,  by  the  vigour 
and  acuteness  of  his  literary  productions.  What  he  seemed  lo 
want  in  greatness  and  extent  of  understanding  he  made  up  by 
sagacity  of  judgment  and  acuteness  of  reasoning  ;  and  I  shall 
scarcely  be  contradicted  when  I  say,  that  in  penetration  and 
force  of  intellect  he  has  rarely  been  surpassed. 

His  publications  on  ihe  Atonement,  and  against  Dr.  Chaun- 
cy,  have  afforded  to  his  adversaries  the  most  unpleasant  speci- 
mens and  proofs  of  his  reasoning  powers. 

Edwards,  Hopkins,  and  Bellamy,  have  long  since  retired  from 
their  stations  in  the  church  militant,  and,  I  trust,  are  now  reap- 
ing the  fruits  of  their  labours  in  the  mansions  of  joy  and  rest, 
together  with  many  souls,  the  seals  of  their  ministry  on  earth. 
And  it  is  matter  of  consolation,  to  reflect  that  the  idle  clamours 
and  reproaches  which  envy,  pride,  and  ambition,  are  incessant- 
ly venting  against  these  men   and  their  doctrine,  cannot  pollute 


93 

the  air,  nor  disturb  the  repose  of  those  peaceful  mansions.  And 
if  their  persecutors  and  opposers  would,  for  once,  institute  a  just 
comparison  between  the  tokens  of  divine  approbation  bestowed 
on  the  labours  of  these  men,  and  on  their  own,  it  would  give  a 
chill  to  their  ambition — would  rebuke  their  pride,  and  change 
the  voice   of  vituperation  into    confession  and  self-reproach. 

Beside  the  writings  of  these  men  already  enumerated,  there 
are  many  writers  of  the  same  class  now  living,  which  circum- 
stance ought,  perhaps,    rather  to   impose   silence. 

Their  theological  magazines,  religious  tracts,  and  periodical 
publications,  the  work  of  associations  of  ministers  of  that  de- 
scription, in  which  all  their  sentiments  are  abundantly  disclosed, 
are  immensely  numerous.  Sermons,  however,  form  the  princi- 
pal department  of  their  writings  ;  and  although  it  cannot  be  de- 
nied that  they  have  published  sermons  which  in  point  of  execu- 
tion are  but  ordinary,  and  perhaps  sometimes  incorrect  in  senti- 
ment, yet  they  have  also  published  sermons  which,  in  defiance, 
of  the  overwhelming  charge  of  "  verbiage,  tautology,  and  non- 
sense," will  assume  and  maintain  their  station  in  the  first  class 
of  that  order   of  composition. 

If  Emmons  has  been  charged  with  some  peculiarities  of  sen- 
timent, it  should  be  remembered  that  those  peculiarities  are  not 
chargeable  on  him  as  a  Hopkinsian,  but  as  a  writer.  I  say  this 
for  the  man  of  sense  and  candour  who  may  read  these  pages. 
As  for  the  bigot,  blind  with  prejudice,  and  mad  with  intolerance, 
and  who,  like  the  countryman  in  Boston,  would  be  liable  to 
mistake  the  stuffed  skin  of  a  quadruped  for  the  charter  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, I  leave  him  to  hug  his  prejudices.  Any  peculiar 
notions  entertained  by  Emmons,  are  no  more  chargeable  to 
Hopkinsianism,  than  the  peculiar  notions  and  reveries  of  Stub- 
ner,  or  Blandrata,  were  chargeable  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Re- 
formation. Stubner  was  among  the  reformers,  and  so  is  Em- 
mons among  the  Hopkinsians. 

I  shall  not  pronounce  on  the  peculiar  opinions  of  Emmons. 
Whether  they  are  correct  or  not,  I  leave  to  the  decisions  of 
that  day  which  shall  rectify  every  error,  and  bring  truth  to  light. 
But  they  are  surely  not  of  a  nature  which  ought  to  interfere 
with   christian  fellowship  and  communion.      But  Emmons,   re- 


94 

garded  as  a  sermonizer,  is  surpassed  by  few  writers  of  that 
class,  either  living  or  dead  ;  and  few  sermons,  considered  in  all 
respects,  are  superior  to  his.  His  subjects,  generally  important, 
are  judiciously  selected,  and  skilfully  raised  out  of  an  appro- 
priate text.  His  sermons  are  read  with  ease  and  pleasure : 
with  pleasure,  because  his  object  is  perfectly  obvious,  his  con- 
ceptions clear,  and  his  arrangement  natural  and  luminous  ;  and 
with  ease,  because  short,  and  always  rapidly  progressing. 

"  Semper  festinat  ad  erejzfww." 

Emmons  is  an  original  of  the  noblest  class,  and  certainly  one 
of  the  most  decided  character.  No  candid  reader,  who  reads 
for  instruction,  is  disappointed,  or  rises  from  the  perusal  of  one 
of  his  sermons  without  some  benefit.  His  sermons  generally 
indicate  extensive  knowledge  and  acuteness  of  judgment.  His 
style  is  neat,  appropriate,  pure,  and  correct,  though  less  elegant 
and  splendid  than  that  of  Hall,  and  less  easy  and  graceful,  per- 
haps, than  that  of  Jay.  In  fervency  and  pathos,  we  may  have 
some  in  our  own  country  who  excel  him  ;  and  his  sermons  are, 
perhaps,  too  didactic — too  much  the  essay,  and  not  sufficiently 
the  popular  address,  to  answer,  in  the  best  manner,  all  the  ends 
of  preaching.  With  less  of  the  flowers  of  May,  or  fruits  of  Octo- 
ber, than  some  others,  his  sermons  may  be  compared  to  the 
meridian  hour  of  a  clear  day  in  June,  when  the  sun  puts  forth 
his  strength,  the  summer  displays  her  maturity,  and  vegetation 
all  her  energy.  I  say  nothing  of  any  uncommon  turn  to  a  pas- 
sage of  scripture  he  may  give — of  any  new  distinction,  or  mo- 
dification, in  a  point  of  speculation  ;  for  we  live  in  a  day  when 
disputes  between  Monothelites  and  Monophisites,  Realists  and 
Nominalists,  no  longer  terminate  on  the  rack  or  gibbet  ;  when 
wars  between  Troglodytes  and  Brobdinagoreans  no  more  lay 
waste  cities  ;  nor  are  the  differences  of  Bigendians  and  Littlen- 
dians  to  be   considered    as  heresies. 

The  reader  of  Emmons'  Sermons  is  like  one  passing  over 
an  extensive  and  well -cultivated  farm ;  the  fences  are  substan- 
tial and  erect  ;  the  fields  "  are  verdant,  square,  and  regular,  not 
Triangular ;   the  meadows    are  separated  from  the   woodlands, 


95 

and  the  pastures  from  the  tillage  :  the  mansion-house  is  not 
loftv,  but  neat  and  spacious,  and  speaks  itself  the  seat  of  wealth, 
but  not  of  dissipation — of  happiness,  but  not  of  ambition.  The 
pro.spects  are  diversified  with  hills  and  valleys,  and  enriched  with 
springs  and  rivulets. 

The  audiences  who  heard  Emmons  have  heard  more  truth, 
and  are  better  instructed,  waving  all  peculiar  and  discrimi- 
nating points,  than  those  who  heard  Davies,  or  Weatherspoon  ; 
and  trusting  that  time  will  cure  prejudices,  and  assured  that  sel- 
fishness will  soon  yield  the  ground  to  a  benevolence  purely  dis- 
tnteresled,  I  frankly  declare,  that  I  would  as  lieve  be  thought  the 
writer  of  the  sermons  of  Emmons,  as  of  Watts  or  Baxter,  Hall 
or  Fuller,  Sherlock  or  Tillotson,  Saurin  or  Claude,  Bossuet  or 
Bourdaioue. 

After  the  critic  has  screwed  up  his  nose,  scowled,  hissed, 
snuffed,  tossed,  and  pronounced  a  few  such  phrases  as  "  igno- 
rance ! — no  taste  I — impudence  !"  and  the  like  ;  I  would  request 
him  to  read  a  sermon  of  Davies,  of  Saurin,  of  Baxter,  of 
Sherlock,  of  Massilon,  and  of  Emmons  ;  and  then  ask  himself 
which  of  them  conveys  the  most  important  truth,  with  fewest 
words,  most  simplicity  and  force,  least  affectation  and  labour, 
and  greatest  clearness.  I  must  caution  him,  however,  to  break 
fairly  through  the  blinding  halo  that  surrounds  great  names ;  to 
be  on  his  guard  against  the  splendour  of  the  great  assemblies  of 
London  and  Paris,  where  nobles  and  monarchs  worship ;  to  for- 
tify his  auditory  nevres  against  the  titillation  of  pompous  phrases, 
and  majestic  circumlocution,  which  add  little  to  the  force,  beau- 
ty, or  impression  of  truth.  A  sermon  is  not  the  greater,  be- 
cause a  monarch  heard  it,  nor  the  better,  because  he  admired  it. 

A  sermon  is,  or  ought  to  be,  a  portion  of  the  gospel  of  Christ 
adapted  to  the  attention  of  a  public  audience :  its  style  and  man- 
ner may  be  compared  to  the  vessels  on  which  a  public  feast  is 
served  up.  Important  truth  is  the  food  itself.  Now,  the  service 
of  dishes  may  be  of  gold,  silver,  porcelain,  or  common  earthen 
ware,  pewter,  or  even  wood.  Some  forty  years  ago,  when  the 
good  people  of  this  country  used  to  eat  on  wooden  trenchers, 
even  a  pewter  service  was  thought  quite  splendid  and  luxuri- 
ous.     Emmons   treats  his  audience   in  a  handsome  service  of 


96 

sHver ;  and  if  there  are  those  who  can  go  as  high  as  gold,  en- 
riched with  diamonds,  I  am  glad.  Let  it  be  remembered,  how- 
ever, that  very  indifferent  food  may  be  served  up  in  gold,  and 
many  a  deadly  draught  has  lurked  in  a  golden  goblet. 

The  pious  and  venerable  West,  "  whose  praise  is  in  all  the 
churches^'  where  he  is  iinown,  and  whose  full  value  cannot  be 
known,  but  by  personal  acquaintance,  now  more  than  eighty 
years  of  age,  is  still  discharging  the  duties  of  the  sacred  office. 
Three  times  has  his  congregation  heard  him  pass  through  the 
New  Testament,  expounding  verse  by  verse  the  sacred  oracles  ; 
illustrating  and  enforcing  them  with  a  propriety,  acuteness,  and 
vio-our,  of  which  this  country  has  seen  no  parallel :  nor  has  any 
minister  of  the  present  day  a  happier  talent  in  that  most  useful 
branch  of  public  instruction,  or  is  "  mightier  in  the  scriptures." 
Dr.  West's  publications  have  not  been  numerous  ;  but  what  few 
things  he  published,  will  be  sufficient  to  perpetuate  his  name 
with  honour.  His  treatises  on  moral  agency,  and  on  the  atone- 
ment, will  best  show  their  force  in  an  attempt  to  answer  them. 
With  that  inattention  to  the  ornaments  of  style  characteristic  of 
his  early  time,  he  evinced  great  vigour  of  thought,  and  justness 
of  reasoning. 

Christ  has  honoured  this  worthy  man  in  an  extraordinary  man- 
ner :  for  the  space,  I  believe,  of  sixty  years,  in  which  he  has 
discharged  without  a  stain,  the  work  of  the  ministry,  he  has 
from  time  to  time  seen  the  work  of  God  carried  on  amongst  his 
people  ;  and  very  many  souls  have  been  given  him  as  seals  of 
his  ministry,  who  will  be  stars  in  the  crown  of  his  rejoicing  in 
the  day  of  the  Lord. 

Though  I  would  willingly  dispense  with  mentioning  the  names 
of  persons  living,  from  delicacy  to  their  feelings,  yet  that  si- 
lence, any  further  than  is  imposed  by  brevity,  cannot  comport 
with  the  design  of  this  enumeration,  which  is  to  show  how  re- 
mote from  candour  and  truth  are  those  reflections  and  sneers, 
which  deny  to  New-England  the  name  of  writer  or  theologian. 
And  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  ask  many  young  men  of  education  and 
talents,  but  recently  from  that  quarter,  who  have  established 
themselves  in  this  city  in  the  various  branches    of  business ;  I 


97 

ask  them,  whether  it  gives   them  pleasure   to  hear   such  reflec- 
tions, 

"  Tossed  in  the  jest  from  wind  to  M'ind  ?" 

I  ask  them,  whether  they  have  become   so    triangular — so  sealed 
with  prejudice,  as  really  to  believe,  there  are  no    writers    there  ? 

They  peradventure  may  have  heard  of  the  name  of  Dwight, 
the  maternal  grandson  of  the  great  Edwards ;  perhaps  they  may 
have  been  educated  under  his  eye  and  instruction,  and,  if  so, 
they  have  heard  his  course  of  theological  lectures  :  shall  I  be- 
lieve, that  since  they  have  come  within  the  radiance  of  superior 
luminaries,  that  they  are  truly  converted  to  the  belief,  that  there 
is  nothing  in  New-England — that  all  there  is  "  verbiage,  tau- 
tology, and  nonsense" — "  no  books,  no  documents,  no  writ- 
ings V  Some  of  them  I  know  to  be  sons  of  New-England  cler- 
gymen of  eminence  and  distinction.  But  here,  alas  !  they  have 
learned  the  humiliating  fact,  that  their  fathers  knew  nothing, 
and  were  nothing ;  or,  if  any  thing,  in  comparison  as  a  glow- 
worm to  a  star.  They  are,  perhaps,  almost  ready  to  wrangle 
with  their  fate,  and  wish  that  Bamfylde  Carew  had  been  their 
father. 

Take  courage,  young  men,  and  hold  up  your  heads  ;  though 
a  New-England  clergyman  claim  you,  dare  to  own  your  parent- 
age,  dare  to  think  yourselves  educated,  though  educated  by  a 
Dwight.  This  language  may  seem  enigmatical  to  persons  at  a 
distance :  here  it  will  be  well  understood,  and  will,  I  trust,  pro- 
duce a  salutary  effect.  For  I  do  fiimly  believe  that  so  great  a 
perversion  of  truth,  so  unaccountable  a  concealment  of  fact, 
never  was  practised  or  achieved  under  circumstances  so  extra- 
ordinary, in  any  other  place  on  the  globe.  And  whatever  the 
reader  may  think,  he  may  rest  assured  that  we  have  before  us 
the  true  ground  of  the  controversy  with  New-England.  I  there- 
fore said  in  the  former  series,  that  it  all  arose  from  ambition  and 
envy.  Our  adversaries  seem  not  to  be  aware  that  there  is  a 
great  distinction  between  commerce  and  theology  ;  nor  yet  is 
New-England  altogether  ignorant   of  commerce. 

The  man  whose  name  has  been  mentioned  would  be  an  ho- 
9 


98 

nour  to  any  state  or  nation.  An  example  so  bright,  a  pattern  so 
illustrious,  will  long  be  remembered  by  hundreds  who  have  felt 
its  powerful  influence ;  will  long  flourish  in  the  talents  he  has 
elicited  and  matured  ;  will  long  be  celebrated  by  the  genius  he 
has  fostered.  Dr.  Dwight,  for  general  erudition  and  correct 
taste,  for  powerful  talents  and  uncorrupted  integrity,  is  surpass- 
ed by  no  man  in  our  country.  Though  he  may  have  less  starch 
in  his  composition  than  Dr.  Buckram  ;  though  he  may  be  less 
susceptible  to  the  courtier's  gentle  touch  than  Dr.  Weathercock ; 
for  he  is  not  a  man  that  says  one  thing  and  does  another ;  yet 
he  is,  "  take  him  for  all  in  all,"  as  great  as  the  Great  Gun  himself. 

The  sermons,  and  other  productions  of  his  pen,  are  brilliant 
specimens  of  a  great  and  vigorous  intellect,  and  not  unworthy 
of  a  descendant  of  Edwards. 

Since  the  writings  of  New-England  are  accused  of  consist- 
ing of  nothing  but  "  verbiage,  tautology,  and  nonsense,"  I  will 
mention  one  writer,  at  least,  whose  sermons,  if  the  reader  may 
give  himself  the  trouble  to  examine,  I  can  assure  him  he  will 
acquit  of  this  heavy  charge.  Smalley's  Sermons  are  able  and 
handsome  specimens  of  clear  and  conclusive  reasoning  ;  they 
abound  little  in  bold  assertions,  and  his  deductions  are  made  with 
caution  and  correctness.  Nothing  but  the  prejudice  of  the  day 
withholds  from  those  sermons  the  high  reputation  due  to  solid 
reasoning,  and  an  able  and  masterly  display  of  important  truth. 
Warburt  on  reasoned  with  more  erudition,  and  Sherlock  certain- 
ly with  many  more  adventitious  advantages,  but  I  request  the 
"  Great  Gun"  himself  to  lay  a  sermon  of  Smalley  side  by  side 
with  one  of  Sherlock's,  or  of  Tillotson's,  ot  of  his  own,  if  he 
pleases  ;  compare  them  by  paragraphs,  and  I  put  him  upon  his 
honour,  as  a  gentleman,  where  I  am  happy  to  say  I  do  not  scru- 
ple him,  though  I  do  much  as  a  metaphysician,  to  say  which  of 
them  resembles  most  the  progress  of  Euclid  through  his  47th. 
There  is  scarcely  a  writer  who  carries  more  of  demonstration 
through  every  successive  period ;  nor  would  there  be  a  better 
test  of  this,  than  would  result  from  an  attempt  to  show  where 
his  argument  fails. 

Doctor  S.   Spring's  "  Moral  Disquisitions,"  at  the  very  sound 
of  which  some  nervous  people,  I  suppose,  will  fall  into  the  moral- 


99 

phobia,  is  the  last  thing  I  shall  mention.  This  small  book, 
if  read  with  attention  and  candour,  will  not  fail  to  carry  convic- 
tion to  the  mind  :  it  dwells  on  those  grand  points  in  which  New- 
England  divinity  is  made  the  subject  of  censure.  But  its  fate 
has  been  to  be  condemned  by  those  who  have  not  read  it. 

There  are  many  writings  and  publications,  the  productions  of 
a  much  younger  class  of  men,  which,  while  they  exhibit  hand- 
some specimens  of  classical  excellence,  maintain  and  fully  illus- 
trate the  same  strain  of  sentiment  and  doctrine  ;  but  brevity 
forbids  their  enumeration.  New-England,  in  a  space  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  square,  has,  in  fact,  produced  more  ser- 
mons, essays,  religious  tracts,  and  theological  publications,  and 
those  which  are  respectable  and  important  in  their  kind,  than 
all  the  rest  of  America.  Nor  is  there  a  people  on  earth,  whose 
religious  tenets  are  better  known,  or  more  ably  defended.  Yet, 
we  are  solemnly  assured  by  an  Anti-Hopkinsian  sectarian,  that 
there  are  no  hooks,  documents^  (fee,  by  which  their  principles 
can  be  known. 

The  truth  is,  there  is  no  such  sect  of  people  on  earth  as 
Hopkinsians,  and  I  would  to  God  there  had  never  been  such 
an  appellation  known  among  Christians  as  Calvinists  ;  especial- 
ly, without  they  had  adopted  the  name  of  a  more  lovely  and 
Christ  like  man.  This  rage  for  nick-naming  sects  and  exalting 
the  opinions  and  authorities  of  men,  is  but  a  younger  shoot  of 
the  grand  apostacy. 

The  books  and  writings  I  have  mentioned  in  the  very  imper- 
fect sketch  above,  are  not  censured  or  exploded,  on  account 
of  their  faults,  regarded  as  literary  productions  ;  far  from  it : 
that  is  the  least  of  all  the  fears  of  their  adversaries.  On  the 
contrary,  the  known  conviction  they  carry  with  them,  the 
force  of  native  genius  they  evince,  and  the  spirit  of  piety  they 
breathe,  is  what  renders  them  so  much  dreaded,  and  is  the  real 
clue  to  the  motive  of  those  unwearied  endeavours  to  keep  them 
out  of  sight,  and  to  hiss  them  into  silence. 

Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  close  so  copious  an  account  of  writers, 
without  saying  something  about  the  Investigator.  It  was  a  rule 
with  the  Spectator,  that,  so  long  as  he  was  unknown,  he  might 
say  what  he  pleased  of  himself;  might  even   applaud  his   own 


100 

writings  at  pleasure ;  and  he  often  did  it.  I  see  no  reason  why 
I  have  not  the  same  right ;  and  perhaps  it  is  even  more  neces- 
sary for  me  to  do  it,  than  it  was  for  him  :  however  as  to  that,  I 
shall  do  as  I  please.     In  the  mean  time,  I  shall  say  a  few  things. 

In  the  first  place,  they  may  say  many  unpleasant  things,  but 
they  cannot  say  I  am  not  a  writer.  As  a  proof  that  I  can  write, 
here  is  the  triangle.  It  has  been  written,  and  it  will  be  read,  it 
will  spread  wide,  and  will  be  remembered.  In  the  second  place, 
riiis  thing  has  not  been  excited  merely  as  an  attack  on  error  ; 
it  is  offered  to  the  public  as  a  detergent  to  an  intolerant,  bigot- 
ed, and  persecuting  spirit ;  as  a  diluent  to  the  moral  buckram 
with  which  some  minds  are  most  dreadfully  encased ;  as  a  re- 
frigerent  to  the  calenture  of  ambition  ;  as  an  emulgent  to  a  self- 
ish heart ;  as  a  sudorific  to  the  sedative  frigidity  of  hatred  ;  as 
a  tonic  to  the  atony  of  general  benevolence  ;  as  a  laxative  to  the 
gripe  of  spiritual  pride  :  in  fact,  as  a  universal  nostrum  against 
meddling  with  those  who  are  disposed  to  think  for  themselves. 
And,  from  concurrent  prognostics,  I  think  it  must  produce  a 
good  effect. 

In  the  last  place,  the  Investigator  is  a  physiognomist ;  gives 
lectures  on  heads,  and  can  draw  portraits.  No  portrait  has  yet 
appeared,  though  I  perceive  some  rough  etchings  in  the  former 
series  have  been  readily  claimed.  One  thing  I  engage,  if  I 
hereafter  draw  a  portrait,  the  true  Bucephalus  will  instantly,  as 
of  old,  neigh  at  his  own  likeness. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  II. 

I  SAID,  in  a  former  number,  that  attemps  had  been  made  to 
excite  an  odium  against  Hopkinsianism.  To  many,  no  doubt, 
this  appears  an  unjust  accusation.  But  however  it  may  appear, 
it  is  true,  and  can  be  fully  vindicated.  They  say  that  Hopkin- 
sians  hold  that  a  Christian  ought  to  be  willing  to  be  damned. 
The  most  that  Hopkinsians  contend  for  is,  that  there  may  he  q 


101 

tune  when  a  Christian  may  feel  in  his  heart  to  acquiesce  in  the 
justice  ofGod^  even  though  God  should  cast  him  off  for  ever.  Let 
us  examine  this  point. 

The  chimors  on  this  subject  are  too  absurd  and  ridiculous 
to  be  heard  with  patience.  I  said  perhaps  enough  in  a  former 
number  ;  but  I  will  here  repeat,  that  the  Hopkinsians  hold  no 
more,  relative  to  this  matter,  than  must  be  admitted  by  all  who 
believe  in  divine  providence. 

Their  teachers  are  in  the  habit  of  insisting  much  on  the  doc- 
tine  of  submission  to  the  divine  will ;  which,  I  hope,  will  not 
be  considered  as  an  error.  They  hold,  that  all  rational  crea- 
tures ought  to  feel  perfect  resignation  to  the  will  of  God.  But 
resignation  implies  holiness,  and  God  has  manifested  it  to  be 
his  will,  that  holy  creatures  should  be  happy.  A  holy  creature, 
therefore,  is  not  required  to  be  willing  to  be  damned,  because 
it  is  not  God's  will  that  he  should  be  damned.  They  dwell 
much  on  this  point,  that  every  real  Christian  entertains  a  strong 
sense  of  his  own  desert,  and  of  the  justice  of  God,  in  his  condem- 
nation, as  a  sinner  ;  and  they  believe  that  a  Christian  may  be 
rightly  disposed  towards  God,  i.  e.  may  love  him  supremely  be- 
fore he  has  any  evidence  that  God  will  save  him.  In  this  case, 
therefore,  the  converted  sinner  sees,  and  fully  acquiesces  in,  the 
justice  of  God:  nay,  is  often  heard  to  say,  "  I  feel  that  God 
would  be  just  in  my  condemnation  ;  I  feel  and  know  that  I  de- 
serve his  wrath  ;  and  I  see  clearly  the  beauty  and  the  glory  of  his 
justice,  as  well  as  of  his  mercy." 

The  elements,  and  every  point  in  this  whole  business,  are  now 
before  the  reader,  and  may  be  reduced  to  a  set  of  definite  pro- 
positions, which,  for  the  sake  of  perspicuity,  I  will  here  set 
down. 

1.  Every  rational  creature  ought  to  feel  perfect  resignation 
to  the  will  of  God.     Will  any  one  deny  this  ? 

2.  Perfect  resignation  to  God's  will  implies  holiness,  i.  e.  love 
to  God. 

3.  It  is  the  will  of  God  that  creatures  who  love  him  shall  not 
be  miserable.     This  will  not  be  denied. 

4.  Every  good  man  has  a  strong  sense  of  the  justice  of  God 

9* 


102 

in  his  condemnation  as  a  sinner,  for  without  this  he  would 
have  no  idea  of  grace  in  his  salvation.     This  cannot  be  denied. 

The  promise  of  God  to  save  a  believer,  by  grace,  cannot 
diminish  that  believer's  sense  of  his  own  desert.  Even  pardon 
clearly  implies  the  justice  of  punishment,  or  else  there  can  be 
no  grace  in  pardon. 

5.  The  Christian  may  feel  rightly  disposed  towards  God  and 
his  government,  that  is,  may  love  God,  before  he  has  an  evi- 
dence that  God  will  save  him.  This  is  out  of  the  triangle,  and 
will  be  denied.  But  I  beg  the  reader,  as  he  values  the  truth, 
to  attend  with  candor  to  this  point.  It  may  affect  his  own  re- 
ligion and  hopes  more  than  he  is  aware  of.  This  proposition 
is  denied,  because  it  militates  against  the  grand  fortress  and 
strong  hold  of  what  I  call  selfishness. 

I  justify  the  proposition  by  the  following  reasons  : 

1.  The  real  Christian  may  judge  incorrectly  of  his  own  ex- 
ercises and  feelings.  They  may  be  of  the  right  kind,  without 
his  having  any  degree  of  confidencie  in  them.  Thus  I  have  no 
doubt  it  happens,  that  many  a  converted  soul  does  not  come  to 
a  due  estimate  of  his  exercises  towards  God,  for  hours,  nay, 
days  and  months  after  his  conversion.  He  has  the  feelings  of 
a  child,  but  no  confidence  in  those  feelings.  It  is  a  very  rare 
thing  that  a  renewed  sinner  is  able  to  say,  "  This  is  faith — this^ 
is  love — this  is  holiness — I  am  born  again,"  immediately,  the 
first  moment  after  his  regeneration.  When  I  see  a  christian 
come  forward  in  that  manner,  I  am  doubtful,  and  have  reason 
to  fear  he  is  deluded.  Nor  will  he  be  very  ready  to  give  in  to 
the  opinion  of  any  one  who  may  officiously  tell  him,  he  is  a 
renewed  man  ;  and  such  persons  there  are  always  at  hand.  He 
will  perhaps  say,  "  I  think  I  love  God — I  seem  to  perceive  the 
glory  and  fulness  of  Christ,  but  the  matter  is  too  iuiportant ;  I  fear 
I  am  mistaken." 

2.  The  Christian's  confidence  of  salvation  is  not  the  cause, 
but  the  effect,  of  his  love  to  God.  There  is  not  a  more  fatal 
error  in  the  church,  and  to  the  souls  of  men,  than  the  supposi- 
tion, that  the  sinner  begins  to  love  God  in  consequence  of  dis- 
covering that  God  is  going  to  save  him.  The  thing  itself  speaks 
and  shows   sheer   selfishness,    with   the   broadest   grin.      I   am 


lOS 

amazed  that  the  bare  suggestion  should  not  excite  alarm  and 
suspicion,  distrust  and  aversion.  What  says  our  Saviour  ?  "  If 
ye  love  them  that  love  you,  what  thank  have  ye?"  Do  not 
even  sinners  love  those  that  love  them  ?  Such  a  kind  of  love 
is  no  sign  of  grace.  That  which  I  feel  towards  God,  when  1 
see  that  he  will  save  me,  is  gratitude.  Nothing  can  be  more 
certain  than  that  all  the  wicked  on  earth,  and  that  all  the  devils 
in  hell,  could  they  discover  that  God  was  going  to  make  them 
eternally  happy,  would  love  him  for  it,  would  feel  very  grateful, 
would  think  him  a  very  good  being.  Let  those  who  trust  in  such 
a  kind   of  love  to  God  be  assured,  that  their  foundation  is  sand. 

3.  The  nature  of  that  love,  which  is  due  to  God  from  all 
creatures,  shows,  with  the  brightness  of  a  sunbeam,  that  it  is  far 
above  gratitude,  or  any  [return  or  reflection  of  kindness.  What 
is  the  ground  of  the  most  perfect  and  exalted  friendship  among 
men  ?  Is  it  a  mere  requital  of  kindness,  a  reflection  of  inter- 
est ?  Does  it  rest  on  the  narrow  ground  of  reciprocal  benefits  ? 
Is  it  not  grounded  on  the  high  and  estimable  qualities  which 
two  persons  may  discover  in  each  other  ?  What  if  General  Wash- 
ington had  reprieved  a  criminal  from  death,  or  paid  his  ransom, 
would  that  criminal  perceive  in  that  generous  act  the  highest  and 
utmost  ground  of  respect  1  Robespierre  or  Cataline,  might  have 
done  him  the  same  kindness.  In  truth,  all  that  God  has  done  for 
one  sinner  bears  no  more  proportion  to  the  grounds  of  regard  dis- 
coverable in  his  nature  and  character,  than  a  single  grain  of  sand 
bears  to  the  universe.     Hence, 

4.  Love  to  God  is  not  the  effect  or  consequence  of  faith  ;  it 
is  coeval  with  it,  nay,  it  is  in,  and  belongs  to  the  nature  of 
faith.  Faith  without  love  is  good  for  nothing — is  dead — is  no 
better  than  the  faith  of  devils.  As  there  can  be  no  holiness  in 
the  heart  previous  to  love,    and  as  nothing  can  be  acceptable  to 

God  without  holiness,  we  may  rest  assured  that  holiness    is  not 

only  a  concomitant,  but  a  constituent  of  faith. 

It  may  further  be  observed,  that  consequent  on  regeneration 
there  can  be  no  earlier  exercise  of  heart  than  love  to  God  ;  and, 
1  leave  it  to  the  accute  and  able  theologian  to  say,  whether  he 
can  perceive  any  thing  in  regeneration  itself,  but  a  change  of 
heart  from  hatred  to  the  love  of  God.      But  by  love,  here,    I 


104 

mean  not  only  the  effect,  but  the  cause  ;  not  only  the  exercise^, 
but  the  agency  by  which  it  is  produced,  that  is,  "  the  love  of 
God  shed  abroad  in  the  heart,  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  "  For  he 
that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him." 

I  have,  I  trust,  shown,  that  love  to  God  is  not  the  effect  of 
faith.  The  arguments  might  indeed  have  been  amplified,  but 
that  I  deem  unnecessary,  till  I  shall  see  stronger  reasons  brought 
against  them.  And,  if  the  love  of  God  be  considered  objec- 
tively, it  will  be  seen,  that  it  cannot  arise  from  a  conviction  that 
God  is  goiag  to  save  the  sinner.  This,  indeed,  has  been  already 
stated,  but  the  importance  given  to  this  point  by  the  dispute  be- 
fore us,  renders  it  necessary  to  be  more  explicit. 

The  unregenerate  man  is  in  a  state  of  condemnation,  of 
course,  he  has  no  evidence  to  believe  that  God  will  save  him.  If 
regeneration  be  an  instantaneous  work,  which  those  admit  with 
whom  I  am  at  issue,  a  moment  of  time  does  not  intervene  be- 
tween the  last  sinful  exercise  of  the  unregenerate,  and  the  first 
holy  exercise  of  the  regenerate  man,  or  love  to  God  :  in  a  mo- 
ment he  finds  himself  loving  God,  and  feels  delight  in  the  ex- 
ercise. The  first  intellectual  apprehensions  of  the  new  man 
are  allowed  to  be  various,  by  most  orthodox  divines,  old  as 
well  as  new  :  and  this  must  be  allowed  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  and  is  confirmed  by  constant  experience.  I  seldom  ever 
heard  two  Christians  relate  having  had  similar  apprehensions* 
either  in  the  first  moments,  or  first  hours  or  days,  of  their  Chris- 
tian experience.  Their  first  views  may  be  supposed  to  take 
their  complexion  very  much  from  their  state  of  knowledge,  and 
general  habits  of  thinking.  But  though  these  cases  doubtless 
embrace  an  endless  variety,  yet  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that 
God  is  the  grand  object  of  their  apprehensions  ;  and  that  them- 
selves are  generally,  if  not  entirely,  out  of  the  question,  and  not 
thought  of. 

I  first  mention  the  case  of  those  persons  who  pretend  to  no 
recollection  of  the  time  of  their  conversion  ;  and  many  such 
there  are  who  give  abundant  evidence  of  piety.  Though  they 
did  not  know  it,  there  was  a  time  when  they  were  renewed  by 
the  Holy  Ghost :  no  thought  occurred  to  them,  however,  that 
they  were  born  again,  or  were  going  to  be  saved  ;  so  far  from 


105 

it,  that  if  any  one  had  told  them  they  were  Christians,  they 
would  have  spurned  the  idea,  and  would  have  said,  "  you  flatter 
and  deceive  me."  What  may  we  suppose  were  their  exercises 
during  this  time  1  Why,  at  times  they  had  clear  and  affecting 
views  of  the  loveliness  and  glory  of  God,  of  the  person  and 
character  of  Christ,  of  his  fulness  and  all-sufficiency  as  a  Sa- 
viour ;  but,  then,  they  dare  not  trust  to  these  views  and  feelings. 

I  next  mention  the  case  of  such  as  suppose  they  know  the 
time  of  their  conversion.  What  were  their  first  views  ?  "  There 
was  a  God  ; — he  was  an  infinitely  lovely  and  excellent  being. 
The  world  was  his ; — all  nature  was  beautiful  and  glorious  ; — 
all  creatures  seemed  to  praise  him.  The  Bible  was  a  new  book. 
There  was  a  Christ  willing  and  able  to  save  the  vilest  sinner. 
The  gospel  was  free ;  the  fault  was  all  in  the  sinner."  And  I 
declare  to  the  reader,  that  not  one  only  nor  two,  nor  ten  per- 
sons have  I  heard  say,  that  their  view  of  Christ's  sufficiency 
was  such,  that  they  thought  they  could  persuade  their  friends 
immediately  to  embrace  him. 

But  while  the  new-born  Christian  had  these  views,  what  of 
himself?  Did  it  occur  to  him,  at  the  very  first  instant,  that  God 
was  going  to  save  him,  and,  therefore,  that  he  loved  God   for  it  ? 

Was  it  his  very  first  apprehension  that  he  should  be  saved  ; 
and  was  that  the  cause  of  his  joy  and  love  ?  The  idea  is  shock- 
ing, and  from  my  soul,  I  believe,  is  revolting  to  every  pious 
mind  ;  nor  do  I  believe  there  is  a  Christian  on  earth  whose  re- 
collection of  his  own  experience  will  confirm  it.  I  readily 
grant,  the  Christian's  first  apprehension  may  be  of  the  Saviour ; 
but  then  it  will  be  of  him  as  the  son  of  God.  "  If  thou  believest 
in  thine  heart  that  God  has  raised  up  Jesus  Christ  from  the 
dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved."  "  But,"  said  Christ  to  Peter, 
•'  whom  do  ye  say  that  I  am  ?"  "  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God ; 
thou  art  the  king  of  Israel."  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Barjona  ; 
flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  this  unto  thee,  but  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven." 

Christ's  person,  character,  and  work,  together,  form  the  great 
object  of  faith;  the  assent  of  the  understanding,  and  cordial  con- 
sent of  the  heart  to  it,  form  the  exercise.  But  the  notion  of 
appropriating  faith,  so  called,  i.  e.  that    Christ  died  for    me,   and 


106 

laying  this  as  the  ground  and  motive  of  my  love  to  Christ,  and 
prior  to  it,  and  these  points,  in  connexion  with  the  doctrine  of 
particular  atonement,  make  out  a  dead  faith  and  selfish  love  to 
the  Christian,  and  an  innocent  unbelief  to  the  sinner. 

To  perceive  beauty,  is  to  love.  Whatever  the  soul's  first  ap- 
prehension of  God  is,  it  is  attended  with  a  coeval  perception  of 
his  glorious  excellence  and  beauty.  I  wish  the  candid  and  in- 
genuous reader  to  observe  that  acts^  in  no  case,  are  the  proper 
objects  of  love.  A  series  of  great  actions  indicate  a  great  be- 
ing ;  but  it  is  not  the  actions,  but  the  actor  we  love.  But  a  good 
action  done  to  me  indicates  no  more  goodness  than  as  though  it 
were  done  to  some  other  man.  I  ought,  in  fact,  to  love  God 
as  much  for  doin^  good  to  my  neighbour  as  to  myself ;  and 
this  I  certainly  shall  do,  if  I  "  love  my  neighbour  as  myself." 
If  this  be  not  correct,  let  its  error  be  made  out. 

This  brings  into  view  an  idea  of  what  is  usually  termed  disirt' 
terested  love,  against  which  a  more  unreasonable  clamour  has 
been  raised,  and  justified  by  more  ridiculous  shifts,  and  more 
groundless  and  shameless  arguments,  than  are  usually  seen 
marshalled  in  the  field  of  controversy.  Be  it  admitted,  though  it 
is  by  no  means  always  true,  that  the  new-born  soul's  first  appre- 
hension is  of  Christ — his  first  exercise  of  love  is  towards  Christ ; 
yet  there  is  no  otherwise  an  act  of  appropriation  than  what  is 
implied  in  the  perception,  "  that  the  Saviour  is  infinitely  glori- 
ous and  excellent,  willing,  and  all-sufiicient  to  save ;  the  chiefest 
among  ten  thousand,  and  altogether  lovely."  He  looks  up  to 
God,  and  beholds  him  a  God  of  love,  ■  ruling  his  kingdom  with 
perfect  goodness  ;  that  all  creatures  are  safe  ;  that  all  interests 
committed  to  him  are  secure.  It  does  not,  at  this  time,  occur 
to  him  that  he  is  born  again,  or  shall  be  saved.  His  mind  is 
filled  with  objects  infinitely  more  glorious  and  majestic  than 
any  consideration  of  his  own  interest  or  salvation.  And,  al- 
though a  great  leader  of  the  Triangular  scheme  has  lately  cau- 
tioned his  hearers,  from  his  pulpit,  to  be  aware  of  that  "  hc^e 
and  absurd  philosophy,  which  ought  not  to  he  dignified  hy  the 
name  of  philosophy^  which  teaches  men   to    leave    their  own  hap- 


107 

piness  and  interest  out  of  the  question  ;"*  yet  it  is  a  truth  whicli 
every  Christian  should  know  and  feel,  that  a  view  of  the  glory 
of  God  shining  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,  breaking  forth  on 
the  mind  of  the  sinner,  and  especially  for  the  first  time,  will 
leave  him  little  room  to  think  of  his  own  dear  self,  or  of  his  in- 
terest or  salvation. 

Job  seemed  to  have  a  great  deal  of  that  base  and  absurd  phi- 
losophy when  he  said,  "  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of 
the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee,  v/herefore  I  abhor  my- 
self, and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes."  David,  also,  had  much  of 
that  philosophy  when  he  exclaimed,  *'  when  I  consider  the 
heavens,  the  work  of  thy  fingers,  the  moon  and  stars,  which 
thou  hast  made.  Lord,  what  is  marv,  that  thou  art  mindful  of 
him  ?"  (fee. 

In  that  solemn  hour  a  sense  of  the  vileness  and  desert  of  sin 
falls  upon  the  renewed  soul  with  the  weight  of  mountains  ;  he 
is  amazed  at  the  mercy  that  has  preserved  him,  and  he  ex- 
claims with  all  the  feelings  of  his  heart,  and  energies  of  his 
soul,  "  God  would  be  lovely  if  he  should  cast  me  off  for  ever." 
How  little  is  he  inclined,  at  that  time,  or  any  other  time,  to 
seize  upon  some  divine  promise,  and  boldly  and  arrogantly 
threaten  to  keep  Christ  to  his  word.  I  use  this  phrase  because 
it  was  very  recently  used  by  another  Triangular,  who  boldly 
exhorted  his  Christian  hearers  to  keep  Christ  to  his  word,  i.  e. 
to  make  him  fulfil  his  promises. 

Alas !  whither  does  this  strain  of  Antinomianism  tend  ?  What 
havock  it  has  already  made,  and  what  ruin  it  threatens !  But  is 
there  need  to  exhort  mankind  to  be  more  selfish  ?  is  there  ground 
to  fear  that  they  will  not  interpret  the  bible  sufficiently  favoura- 
ble to  their  own  characters  and  state  ?  Shall  they  be  exhorted,  if 
I  may  so  say,  to  toe  the  mark,  and  challenge  the  Saviour  to 
come  and  meet  them  upon  his  peril  1  Let  that  great  master  in 
Israel  be  assured,  that  he  need  be  under  no  apprehensions  lest 
his  hearers  shall  not  be  sufficiently  alive  to  their  own  interest 
and  happiness.  They  will  do  that  in  obedience  to  man's  ruling 
passion. 

*  Dr.  Mason. 


108 

I  have  dwelt  long  on  this  subject ;  have  gone  carefully  over 
that  ground  pomted  at  with  so  much  scorn,  and  regarded  with 
so  much  terror.  It  amounts  to  this ;  that  a  man  under  the  in- 
fluence of  clear  views  of  God  and  his  government,  and  of  his 
own  exceeding  vileness,  all  which  he  may  have  without  any 
certain  evidence  of  his  own  good  estate,  may  fully  acquiesce  in 
the  justice  of  God — may  see  that  God  would  be  just  in  casting 
him  off,  and  may  feel  as  though  he  could  love  and  adore  God, 
if  he  in  fact  should  do  it.  Some  writers,  called  Hopkinsian, 
may  have  dwelt  particularly  on  this  point,  but  it  is  a  matter 
which  has  no  necessary  connexion  with  Hopkinsianism — is 
found  in  old  writers  as  well  as  new.  Devils  who  are  now 
suffering  the  wrath  of  God,  are  under  the  same  obligation  to 
love  and  adore  him  as  the  angels  of  light  in  heaven.  If  be- 
cause he  is  punishing  them,  they  have  a  right  to  hate  and 
abhor  him,  then  they  certainly  do  right  in  making  war  on  his 
kingdom. 

The  reason  why  such  a  clamour  is  raised  against  this  idea  is, 
because  men  cannot  endure  the  thought  that  the  glory  and  ho- 
nour of  God  should  be  preferred  to  the  happiness  of  a  wicked 
man. 

No  Hopkinsian  on  earth  ever  held,  or  pretended,  that  a  wil- 
lino-ness  to  be  damned  constitutes  a  habitual  exercise  of  the 
Christian;  for  it  is  not  the  will  of  God  that  a  real  Christian 
should  be  damned ;  it  would  be  revolting  against  God's  will, 
and  every  Christian  knows  it ;  but  the  wiUingness  contended 
for  is  restricted  to  those  moments,  while,  as  yet,  the  regenerate 
man  has  no  certain  evidence  that  he  is  a  Christian,  or  that  God 
will  save  him,  yet  still  he  loves  God,  and  is,  of  course,  willing 
that  God's  will  shall  be  done.  I  believe  I  am  understood,  and 
if  so,  I  have  only  to  say,  that  on  this  ground,  the  Hopkinsian  is 
willing  to  be  at  issue  with  his  adversary. 

If  it  be  admitted  that  a  man  can  love  God  before  he  has 
evidence  that  God  will  save  him,  the  point  is  settled  ;  that  he 
ought  so  to  do,  nay,  that  those  ought  so  to  do  who  know  he 
never  will  save  them,  few  will  dare  to  deny :  and  this,  I  think, 
to  the  discerning  mind,  shows  what  the  proper  motive  of  love 
to  God  is.  Saints  and  angels  do,  in  fact,  love  God  for  the 
same  reason  for  which  wicked  men  and  devils   are   bound  to 


109 

love  him,  viz.  because  he  is  infinitely  excellent   and   worthy  to 
be  loved. 

Whether  a  Christian  can  feel  willing  to  be  an  enemy  to  God 
for  ever,  has  no  connexion  with  this  entire  discussion,  since  the 
willingness  to  suffer,  of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  relates 
wholly  to  the  penalty  of  God's  law,  and  not  to  a  transgression 
of  it.  The  breath  and  words,  therefore,  spent  on  that  idea  are 
wholly  wasted,  and  the  terrible  blows  often  given  to  it,  are 
dealt  out  to  a  shadow. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  III. 


A  CONTRAST. 

1.  Men  are  condemned  for  1.  Men  are  condemned  for 
the  sin  of  Adam.  their  own  transgressions. 

2.  Men  have  a  natural  or  2.  Men  have  no  inability  to 
physical  incapacity  to  obey  obey  God  but  what  arises  from 
God.  want  of  inclination,  or  will. 

3.  Christ  made  atonement,  3.  Christ  made  atonement, 
or  propitiation,  for  none  but  or  propitiation,  for  all  man- 
the  elect.  kind. 

4.  The  gospel  invites  none  4.  The  gospel  invites  all 
but  the  elect  to  come  to  Christ,  mankind  to  come  to  Christ. 

5.  None  but  the  elect  are  5.  All  who  hear  the  gospel 
under  obligation  to  believe  in  are   under    obligation  to  believe 

Christ.  in  Christ. 


6.  The  elect  are  not  bound  6.    Every   sinner    who    hears 
to    believe    in    Christ  till   he  the    gospel  is    bound   to  believe 
shows  them  that  he  will  save  as    much   at    one   time  as   an- 
them, other. 
10 


110 


Hence, 
7.   No  man  will  be  condemn- 
ed at  last  for  unbelief,  because 
the  elect  will  ail  believe — 


Hence, 

7.  All  who  hear  the  gos- 
pel and  do  not  believe,  will 
be  condemned  for  their  unbe- 
lief— 


For, 
8.  Faith  consists  in  believ- 
inof  that  Christ  died  for  me. 


Hence, 
9.  Those  for  whom  Christ 
did  not  die,  cannot  believe  he 
died  for  them,  unless  they  can 
believe  what  is  not  true  ;  there- 
fore, they  cannot  be  condemn- 
ed for  unbelief. 


For, 

8.  Faith  consists  in  *'  receiv- 
ing and  resting  on  Christ  alone 
for  salvation,  as  he  is  offered 
in  the  gospel." 

Hence, 

9.  As  Christ  died  for  all  men, 
any  sinner  who  hears  the  gos- 
pel can  receive  and  rest  on 
him  alone  for  salvation  ;  there- 
fore, any  unbeliever  will  be  con- 
demned. 


Moreover, 

10.  Faith  is  neither  an  exer- 
cise of  the  will  nor  understand- 
ing, but  z,  divine  principle. 


Moreover, 
10.  Faith  is   an  exercise  both 
of  the    will    and     understanding, 
and  a  divine  principle  is  a  phrase 
without  an  idea. 


11.  The  Christian  begins  to 
love  Christ  when  he  finds 
Christ  will  save  him,  and  that 
is  the  true  motive  of  his  love. 

Wherefore, 

12.  Saving  faith  is  before, 
and,  of  course,  without  love  to 
God,  or  holiness,  unless  holi- 
ness be  different  from  love. 

1 3.  A  Christian  cannot  be 
disinterested — the  interest  of 
self  must  be  at  the  bottom,  and 
the  moving  spring  of  all  his 
actions — even  of  his  religion. 


IJ.  The  Christian  begins,  to 
love  Christ  before  he  knows  he 
will  save  him,  and  loves  him  for 
other  and  higher  reasons. 

Wherefore, 

12.  Saving  faith  is  love  in 
its  very  nature,  and  is  a  holy 
exercise,  because  love  is  holi- 
ness. 

13.  A  shameless  and  barefac- 
ed confession,  as  unworthy  of  a 
philosopher  as  a  christian  ! 


Reader,  here  is  a  contrast  to  the  purpose ;  read  it,  and  be  as- 
tonished ;  and,  I  think,  you  cannot  but  be  astonished.  O  wretch- 
ed man  that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  this  body  of 
selfish  Antinomianisra  1 


Ill 

When  I  had  got  thus  far,  sickened  with  the  odious  narrowness, 
the  grovelling  sefilshness  of  this  triangular  place,  I  dropped  my 
pen  and  retired  to  rest.  "  In  the  thoughts  and  visions  of  my 
head  upon  ray  bed,"  I  fancied  myself  travelling  alone,  through 
an  extensive  and  desolate  country ;  it  was  towards  night,  and 
being  on  foot,  I  seemed  weary  with  the  labours  of  a  long  day's 
travel  ;  I  began  to  look  out  for  a  house  of  entertainment,  but 
could  discern  little  save  now  and  then  a  hamlet  of  unpromising 
aspect,  and  at  a  distance  from  the  road.  At  length,  however, 
a  fabric,  of  extraordinary  appearance,  drew  my  attention,  and, 
as  I  approached,  a  signal,  near  the  gate,  gave  me  the  agreeable 
notice  that  it  was  a  public  house.  This  building  was  perfectly 
triangular,  resembling  an  obtuse  prismatic  cone,  cut  perpendi- 
cular to  its  principal  axis,  standing  on  its  base,  rising  to  a  great 
elevation,  and  terminated  in  a  spire.  It  was  very  pleasantly 
situated  on  the  point  of  junction  between  two  large  streams  of 
water,  and  appeared  like   a  place   of  great   traffick. 

I  perceived  much  company  in  the  house,  and,  on  entering,  a 
man  immediately  presented  himself  whom  I  concluded  to  be 
the  landlord.  His  body  was  exceedmgly  corpulent  and  large, 
with  a  little  three-square  head,  and  eyes  very  sharp  and 
twinkling,  which  seemed  "  to  look  at  one  another."*  How- 
ever, he  received  me  with  a  smile,  and  on  asking  for  en- 
tertainment be  assented,  and  told  me  that  in  his  house  I  would 
find  accommodations.  The  company  were  all  strangers  to  me  ; 
nor  did  I  ever  see  so  many  cross-eyed  people  together  before. 
I  took  a  seat  by  myself,  and  waited,  with  some  impatience,  for 
supper.  But  my  curiosity  and  astonishment  were  equally  ex- 
cited to  perceive,  that  not  only  the  house  itself,  but  every  thing 
in  it,  was  in  a  triangular  shape  ;  the  doors  and  windows,  the 
rooms  and  fireplaces,  all  exhibited  that  form.  The  chairs  and 
tables  were  tripods — the  plates  and  platters,  triangular  con- 
caves, and  the  glasses  and  tumblers,  hollow  prisms  ;  but  every 
thing  elegant  in  its  kind,  and  highly  finished. 

At  length  supper  was  announced,  and  I  took  a  seat  at  a  three- 
cornered  table,  with  a   numerous  company,  who    seemed  as  well 

♦  Genius  theolagice,  Novi  Ebori. 


112 

pleased  as  myself  at  the  sight  of  something  edible.  We  com- 
menced  with  little  ceremony,  and  happening  to  sit  near  the 
master  of  the  house,  I  attempted  some  conversation  with  him. 
He  was  affable,  communicative,  and  sententious,  as  tavern 
keepers  usually  are.  The  provision,  of  which  there  were  three 
courses,  appeared  well,  but  had,  I  thought,  somewhat  of  a  pe- 
culiar taste.  I  called  for  pepper,  and  for  salt,  but  still  it  did 
not  do  ;  and,  I  believe,  the  landlord  himself  perceived  that  my 
taste  was  not  well  suited.  At  length  he  said,  "give  me  leave,  sir, 
to  help  you  to  a  relish  which  I  think  you  will  like,  for  I  have 
never  had  one  at  my  table  who   did  not   admire  it." 

"This,  sir,"  continued  he,  "  is,  perhaps,  the  most  famous 
root  in  the  world  ;  its  botanical  name  is  amor  sui ;  it  is  a  very 
line  root  for  the  table,  and  is  beginning  to  be  cultivated  in  these 
parts,  particularly  in  two  large  botanic  gardens,  whence  it  is 
sent  all  over  the  country,  and  they  find  it  very  profitable." 
And  perceiving  he  had  some  knowledge  in  botany,  while  he 
was  putting  some  of  it  on  my  plate,  I  asked  him  if  he  knew 
to  which  of  the  Linnaen  classes  it  belonged.  He  said,  he  be- 
lieved it  was  to  the  Pantandria.  Whilst  I  was  recollecting 
whether  Linnasus  had  such  a  class,  he  said,  smiling,  "  the  name 
of  this  root  sounds  better  in  Latin  than  in  English  ;  it  would 
hardly  do  to   give  it    a  translation." 

I  perceived  they  ate  of  it,  round  the  table,  by  spoonfuls  ; 
and  the  landlord  said,  for  his  part,  he  could,  at  any  time,  make 
a  meal  of  it  ;  in  fact,  wanted  nothing  else. 

For  the  first  moment,  I  thought  the  taste  of  the  amor  sui 
very  agreeable.  It  had  a  racy  and  aromatic  gusto,  highly 
grateful  to  the  palate  ;  but,  after  a  while,  it  began  to  bite  my 
tongue,  burn  my  lips,  draw  up  my  mouth,  contract  my  oesopha- 
gus ;  and,  in  short,  the  more  I  tasted  it  the  worse  it  was.  It 
put  me  in  mind  of  Allen's  attempt  to  eat  the  olive.  A  gentle- 
man, near  me,  seeing  my  embarrassment,  observed  that,  like 
most  high  flavoured  things,  at  first,  it  seemed  rather  pungent 
and  harsh  ;  "  but,"  said  he,  "  sir,  I  have  no  doubt  you  will  soon 
be  fond  of  it."  A  sour  looking  robust  fellow,  whose  eyes  were 
almost  wrong  side  outwards,  declared  it  was  now  used  at  every 
genteel  table,  and  he   never   saw  a  gentleman  but  what  liked  it. 


113 

"  Why,"  said  he,  ♦'  in  Scotland,  my  native  country,  some  call 
it  the  ministerial  root,  because  so  very  convenient  to  cultivate 
on  their  glebes ;  it  succeeds  well  on  lands  which  will  produce 
nothing  else,  and  will,  in  this  country,  soon  be  thought  more 
valuable  than  the  potato ;  and  a  man  that  does  not  like  it  must 
be  a  fool."  He  further  added,  that  he  had  recommended  it, 
with  great  success,  in  this  country  ;  that  he,  and  several  others, 
were  determined  to  bring  it  into  general  cultivation  and  use. 

In  a  region  in  all  respects  so  perfectly  trigonal,  the  effect  was 
wonderful.  I  could  not  repress  my  curiosity,  and  I  feared  I 
should  give  offence  by  appearing  to  inspect  the  various  little  ar- 
ticles which  lay  about  my  plate,  not  to  say  that  a  three-square 
spoon  did  not  very  well  suit  my  mouth.  As  the  landlord  seem- 
ed willing  to  converse,  I  at  last  summoned  sufficient  confidence 
to  inform  him,  that  my  curiosity  and  admiration  had  been  not 
a  little  excited  at  the  very  singular  form  of  his  house  and  fur- 
niture ;  and  I  hoped  he  would  not  think  me  impertinent,  in  wish- 
ing to  know  the  motive  for  adopting  this  figure. 

After  a  little  pause,  with  a  serious  look,  he  replied,  that  I 
was  right  in  wishing  an  explanation,  and  that  no  offence  would 
be  taken. 

"  This  mode  of  building,  sir,"  said  he,  "  I  have  received  from 
my  ancestors,  as  they  did  from  their's  ;  and  you  must  know  it 
is  the  true  primitive  form.  Our  first  and  grandest  maxim  is, 
never  to  admit  of  innovation.  This  maxim  is  founded  in  the 
fact,  that  although  a  little  good  may  come,  yet  a  world  of  evil 
does  actually  come  from  innovations.  Why  sir,"  continued  he, 
with  increasing  earnestness,  "  all  the  bad  practices  in  the^whole 
world  are  but  mnovations.  Satan  was  the  first  innovator,  and 
his  first  innovation  was  made  in  heaven  itself.  Then,  our  mo- 
ther Eve  made  a  sad  innovation  on  the  tree  of  knowledge,  and 
drew  Adam,  our  father,  into  it.  All  human  knowledge,  sir, 
is  but  innovauon  upon  man's  primitive  state,  \^hich  was  pure 
ignorance  ;  and  '  ignorance  is  tlie   mother  of  devotion.' 

"  With  regard  to  this  house,  sir,  it  is  of  the  true  original,  un- 

corrupted    Tuscan    order.     Three    posts   were  first   set   on   the 

ground,  and  their   tops   fastened  together  :  some  say  /owr,  but, 

sir,  I  say  three^  which  I  can   demonstrate  from   the  composition 

*10 


114 

and  resolution  of  forces  ;  besides,  three  is  the  simplest  form,  and 
three  denotes  union,  strength,  and  perfection  ;  it  is  a  mysteri- 
ous number,  as  every  body  knows.  When  four-square  build- 
ings came  in  fashion,  this  primitive  form  was  forced  to  flee  into 
the  wilderness,  just  as  the  true  church  did,  when  the  great 
whore  of  Babylon  usurped  her  ^place  ;  and  they  will  remain 
there,  and  emerge  together."  He  pause(rhere,  and  waited  for  my 
reply. 

I  told  the  landlord,  he  had  satisfied  me  with  the  account  he 
had  given  of  his  house.  He  acknowledged,  that  there  were 
some  inconveniences  attending  this  figure  of  things  ;  but,  then, 
he  said,  that  the  beauty  and  charm  of  uniformity  carried  every 
ihing  before  it ;  and,  for  his  part,  his  object  was  to  have  but  one 
standard  :  every  thing  must  be  alike.  "  Rut  sir,''  said  he,  "  we 
carry  this  point  farther  than  you  imagine  ;  for  soon  after  our 
children  are  born,  we  have  a  triangular  box,  or  hat,  if  you 
please,  made  for  their  heads,  which  they  wear  till  the  head 
grows  in  the  box  into  the  shape  we  wish  ;  and,  as  they  grow  larger, 
we  enlarge  those  helmets  according  to  their  years,  till  at  length 
the  head  becomes  settled  in  the  shape  you  see  mine,  which 
form  v/e  consider  as  highly  favourable  to  acuteness  of  intel- 
lect. I  then  noticed,  that  the  os  frontis  and  os  occipitis  of  his 
head  formed  the  upper  angles,  and  his  chin  the  lower ;  so  that 
the  top  of  the  head  formed  the  base,  and  the  chin  the  apex.  In 
the  course  of  the  evening,  I  had  opportunity  to  see  that  all  his 
numerous  children  had  heads  of  the  same  form  as  their  father  :* 
indeed,  Lavater  admits,  that  straight  lines  in  the  skull  indicate 
strength   and  decision. 

I  perceived  that  this  innkeeper  was  a  mystic,  h-ad  studied  in 
the  occult  sciences,  and  Avas  even  acquainted  with  the  cabalistic 
doctrines.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  ''  the  form  of  all  things  about  me, 
is  founded  in  much  deeper  reasons  than  you  probably  imagine. 
You  know,  doubtless,  that  infinite  perfection  can  only  subsist 
in  a  triune  being.  Among  intellectual  creatures,  there  are  but 
three  grand  orders,  angels,  men,  and  devils :  there  are,  in  all 
existence,   but   three    kinds,  spirit,  matter,    and    mixed.      The 

*  "  What  do  tiie  old  divines  say  about  it  ?" 


115 

heavenly  regious  are  divided  into  three  provinces,  the  first,  se- 
cond, and  third  heavens  :  duration  has  three  modifications,  pre- 
sent, past,  and  future.  Adam's  race  are  all  in  one  of  three 
habitations,  earth,  heaven,  or  hell  ;  every  man  has  three  im- 
portant states,  in  the  body,  out  of  the  body,  and  again  in  the 
resurrection  state.  Every  solid  substance  in  nature  has  three 
dimensions,  length,  breadth,  and  height.  But,"  continued  he, 
"  to  come  near  to  the  point,  you  must  be  one  side  of  a  line,  on 
the  other  side,  or  else  exactly  on  it ;  and,  as  for  the  properties 
of  the  triangle,  philosophers,  from  the  days  of  Euclid,  and  long 
before,  until  now,  have  never  been  able  to  explore  them.  By  the 
triangle,  the  mariner  guides  his  ship  across  the  ocean,  the  surveyor 
measures  the  earth,  and  the  astronomer  the  heavens.  In  a  word, 
I  take  the  triangle  to  be  the  symbol  of  strength,  wisdom,  and 
perfection  ;  and  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  believe,  that  the  soul  of 
man  is  a  perfect  spiritual  triangle." 

Perceiving  his  enthusiasm,  equal  to  that  of  Dr.  Primrose  for 
monogamy,  or  Don  Quixote  for  chivalry,  I  nodded  assent  to  his 
arguments,  and  presently  desired  I  might  be  shown  my  lodg- 
ings. The  landlord  here  informed  me,  that  his  beds,  which  were 
numerous,  were  all  pre-occupied  ;  and,  unless  I  could  accept 
of  a  fellow  lodger,  he  could  make  no  arrangement  that  would 
be  convenient.  In  fact,  he  said,  his  usual  custom  was  to  put 
three  in  each  bed,  corresponding  to  the  three  sides  of  the  tri- 
angle ;  when,  in  order  to  avoid  mixing  head  and  feet,  each  one 
must  bend  himself  into  the  true  figure.  I  assented,  however, 
to  take  one,  and  a  gentlemen  present  ascended  with  me  to  the 
chamber,  of  which,  I  understood,  there  were  about  20  or  30  in 
the  house.  But  here,  a  difficulty  arose  :  the  bed  was  a  perfect 
triangle,  and  so  scanty,  that  even  the  sides  of  it  were  not  as 
long  as  its  intended  occupants ;  however,  each  of  us  took  an 
angle  for  our  heads,  and  let  our  feet  contend  in  the  remaining 
angle  ;  and  they  were  antipodes,  with  a  witness.  A  query 
arose,  whether  these  were  not  the  beds  spoken  of  in  scripture, 
where  it  says,  "  their  bed  is  shorter  than  that  one  may  stretch 
himself  upon  it,  and  their  covering  narrower  than  that  he  can 
wrap  himself  therein." 

My  fellow  lodger  told  me  that  the  landlord  was  invincible  in 


116 

this  whim,  that  he  would  have  every  bed  in  his  house  of  the 
same  size  and  shape ;  that  it  happened,  not  long  since,  that  some 
gentlemen  traveUing,  who  had  portable  bedsteads  with  ihem  of 
the  usual  form,  had  put  up  there,  and,  for  their  own  convenience, 
had  erected  and  prepared  their  own  beds.  The  landlord,  find- 
ing it  out,  went  up  to  their  chamber  in  a  rage,  and  by  the  aid 
of  his  servants,  drew  them  out  of  bed,  threw  their  furniture  out 
of  the  window,  and  expelled  them  from  his  house.* 

Our  situation  was  such  as  promised  little  comfort ;  but  being 
weary,  I  soon  fell  asleep,  and  had  the  following  very  extraor- 
dinary dream,  which  may  be  called  a  dream  two  stories  high, 
or  Somnium  in  Somnio. 

I  fancied  myself  in  a  region  of  great  darkness,  saving  what 
dubious  light  arose  from  distant  fires,  whose  pale  and  curling 
flames  immediately  brought  to  my  mind  the  Tartarian  lake. 
Before  I  could  look  round  me  a  second  time,  a  peal  of  thunder 
shook  all  the  region,  and  a  glare  of  light  showed  me  thousands 
of  beings  seated  round  a  vast  amphitheatre  facing  a  central 
throne.  The  lofty  arches  of  Pandamonium,  sustained  on  pillars 
of  gold  and  illuminated  by  coruscations  of  flame,  from  the 
burning  lake,  resembled  a  structure  of  solid  fire.  The  perpe- 
tual noise  of  distant  thunders  and  tempests,  which  shook  the 
fabric,  prevented  my  hearing  the  debates  and  consultations. 
At  length,  however,  a  voice  more  shrill  than  the  loudest 
trumpet  reached  my  ear.  "  Repair  to  your  stations,  and 
discharge  your  duties,  or  the  city  is  lost  to  my  kingdom. 
Show  yourselves  worthy  of  your  prince,  and,  since  it  is  the  will 
of  fate  that  you  contend  against  a  superior  foe,  acquire  fame  by 
boldness  and  perseverance.  Address  yourselves  to  every  indi- 
vidual, and  yield  to  nothing  but  almighty  power.  Be  ofT,  and 
let  us  see 


What  reinforcement  we  can  gain  from  hope 
If  not,  what  resolution  from  despair." 

The  session  was  closed  in  a   manner  not  very  agreeable  to 
spectators  in  the  gallery,  for  no  sooner  was  the  last  word  pro- 

♦  He  would  not  endure  them,  "  no,  not  for  an  hour." 


117 

nounced,  than  the  vast  assembly  rose  with  a  noise  and  rapidity 
equal  to  the  explosion  of  a  thousand  magazines  of  powder ; 
and  each  one,  in  departing,  resembled  the  tract  of  a  meteor.  I 
know  not  what  become  of  me,  till,  some  time  after,  I  found  my- 
self walking  down  the  park  on  that  side  next  to  Broadway, 
when,  as  usual,  many  people  were  moving  up  and  down  the 
street.  The  sun  from  his  meridian  throne  smiled  with  peculiar 
radiance,  and  the  prospect  was  gay  and  interesting.  What  most 
engaged  my  attention  was  innumerable  winged  genii,  drest  m 
the  robes  of  Iris,  with  golden  drapery  floating  around  them, 
which  seemed  soft  as  air,  and  in  a  long  train  gradually  melted 
into  the  invisible  beam  of  the  sun.  One  of  these  flew  merrily 
about  the  head  of  each  person  I  saw,  keeping  pace,  as  they 
walked,  and  acted  much  like  bees  when  busied  in  extracting 
the  mellifluous  dew  from  the  heads  of  clover  in  a  meadow: 
sometimes  at  one  ear,  and  then  at  the  other,  sometimes  for  a 
moment  perching  on,  then  vaulting  over,  and  flying  round  the 
head.  The  ladies'  large  bonnets  appeared  to  form  for  them  a 
pleasing  vehicle,  resembling  an  airy  chariot  below,  and,  when 
thus  perched,  they  might  be  mistaken  for  a  lofty  and  elegant 
plume.  Excepting  a  little  cloven  foot,  very  sharp  and  threaten- 
ing talons,  which  were,  however,  generally  concealed,  and  a 
proboscis  resembling  an  exquisitely  fine  dagger,  I  could  see 
nothing  about  them  which  looked  suspicious.  Although  nothing 
is  extraordinary  in  a  dream,  in  which  wayward  fancy  dehghts 
to  sport  with  the  laws  of  reason,  I  was  surprised  at  what  I  saw, 
and  recollected  the  words  of  the  poet ; 

"  Millions  of  spiritual  creatures  walk  the  earth 
Unseen,  both  vrhen  we  wake,  and  when  we  sleep." 

At  that  moment  my  curiosity  was  awakened  to  know  whe- 
ther I  had  not  one  of  these  arial  attendants  about  my  head  ; 
and,  looking  round,  I  saw  behind  me  a  vast  figure  of  terrific 
form  and  aspect,  whom  I  could  not  for  a  moment  mistake  for 
his  infernal  majesty.  He  has  been  so  often  described  that  I 
suspect  I  should  add  nothing  new.  I  will  only  say,  that  his 
glowing   and  protruded  eyeballs  evinced   an    ardour    and  pene- 


118 

tration  of  vision,  not  very  pleasant  to  look  at,  or  easy  to  scru- 
tinize :  and  his  v^^hole  form  reminded  me  of  "  the  sun  eclipsed," 
or  "  archangel  ruined." 

My  astonishment  was  increased  when  I  perceived  in  his  hand 
a  litttle  book,  which  I  immediately  knew  to  be  the  Triangle  : 
with  a  stern  voice,  and  a  frown  which  seemed  to  insphere  him 
in  darkness,  he  demanded  whether  I  was  the  author  of  that  book. 
"  Great  Lucifer,"  said  I,  "  if  your  knowledge  is  as  great  as  is 
generally  imagined,  you  surely  must  know  who  wrote  it." 
"  Yes,"  says  he,  "  I  well  know  that  you  wrote  it,  and  I  am  now 
come  to  take  vengeance."  There  is  a  vulgar  notion  prevailing 
that  no  living  person  can  speak  to  a  spirit ;  but  as  this  vision  came 
up  through  the  "  ivory  gate,"  the  reader  will  not  be  surprised  at 
this  dialogue.  I  asked  him  what  fault  he  found  with  that  book. 
"  Fault,"  said  he,  "  it  is  an  audacious  attack  on  some  of  my 
best  friends  ;  and  you  have  outdone  the  devil  himself  in  lies 
and  slander."  "Very  well,"  I  replied,  "if  you  will  show  me 
a  falsehood,  in  all  that  book,  you  may  take  me  where  you 
please." 

I  had  often,  in  the  course  of  my  life,  raised  a  query,  in 
my  own  mind,  whether  the  devil  could  read :  being  strong- 
ly persuaded,  that,  like  many  of  his  followers,  he  had  con- 
demned books  which  he  had  never  read  ;  and  assured  that  to 
prevent  people  from  reading  was  one  of  his  devices ;  though 
somewhat  afraid  of  incensing  him,  I  made  bold,  however,  to 
ask  him  if  he  could  read.  "  You  shall  soon  know,"  replied  he, 
"  whether  I  can  read."  With  that  he  turned  to  the  27th  page  ; 
"  There,  you  say  that  a  rat's  tail  was  never  measured  :  which  is 
false  ;  the  zoologists  have  measured  it  a  hundred  limes,  for 
they  measure  all  animals,  even  the  legs  of  a  grasshopper.  You 
have  told,  sir,  as  great  a  lie  as  Goldsmith  did  when  he  said  that 
the  horned  cattle  of  America  shed  their   horns    every  year  ;  or 

as did  when  he  said  that  the   ants  in  South  America 

would  carry  off  every  vestige  of  large  villages  of  houses  in  three 
years. 

I  told  him,  however,  that  I  did  not  mean  to  assert  that  a  rat's 
tail  was  absolutely  never  measured,  but  that  Hopkins  and  Cal- 
vin   never  measured  it.     "  Hah,"  replied  he,  very  quick,  "  How 


119 

do  you  know  that  Hopkins  and  Calvin  never  did  it  ?  And  how 
dare  you  assert  what  you  do  not  know  ?  Hopkins  and  Calvin 
did  things  of  less  importance  than  measuring  rats'  tails,  and  as 
for  you,  you  cannot  say  that  they  did  not  spend  half  their  time 
in  that  business."  "  But,  sir,"  said  I,  for  we  now  began  to 
grow  somewhat  polite,  "  if  that  book  is  full  of  lies,  do  you  not 
like  it  the  better  for  that,  for  it  is  said  that  you  are  the  father  of 
lies  ?" — "  Come,  come,"  said  he,  "  those  that  wish  to  please  me 
must  tell  lies  about  my  enemies,  not  my  friends  ;  at  any  rate, 
they  must  lie  to  suit  my  purposes.  I  don't,  indeed,  care  about 
abstract  and  metaphysical  truth  ;  that  I  confess  I  hate  as  most 
of  my  best  friends  do — but  truth  or  falsehood,  which  suits  my 
interest,  I  approve  of.  For,  sir,  you  must  know  that  I  am  a 
selfish  being."  I  was  going  to  tell  him  that  I  presumed  I  had 
now  discovered  the  true  cause  of  his  resentment  towards  that 
book;  but  he  sternly  interrupted  me,  "Come  along,  you  are 
convicted  ;"  and  I  believe  he  would  have  laid  hands  upon  me  had 
he  not  been  prevented  by  another  phenomenon. 

At  that  moment  the  ground  shook,  and  a  superior  light,  that 
cast  no  shadow,  seemed  breaking  on  the  heavens.  A  cloud  ap- 
peared on  the  northern  hemisphere,  whose  arching  sides  and 
silvered  edges  gradually  rose  to  a  summit,  on  which  sat  a  person- 
age, which  every  eye,  as  by  intuition,  perceived  to  be  immortal 
Truth. 

Her  throne  seemed  ivory,  and  over  her  white  robes  floated 
an  azure  mantle  besprinkled  with  drops  of  heavenly  lustre.  On 
her  head  was  a  chaplet  of  such  flowers  as  spring  in  the  regions 
of  bliss ;  and  the  summit  of  the  diadem  was  distinguished  by  a 
centre  of  rays  that  resembled  the  morning  star.  The  bloom  of 
eternal  youth  was  in  her  countenance,  but  her  majestic  form 
can  only  be  described  in  the  language  of  that  world  where  she 
is  fully  known.  In  her  right  hand  was  "  the  sword  of  the  spi- 
rit," and  at  her  side  the  symbols  of  power  and  majesty.  Be- 
neath her  feet  the  clouds  were  condensed  in  awful  darkness, 
and  her  chariot  was  borne  along  by  the  breath  of  the  Al- 
mighty. 

I  saw  no  more  of  the  demon  or  his  genii,  and  while  every 
eye  beheld  this  glorious  personage  from  afar,  a  gentle,  but   ma- 


120 

jestic  voice,    in  slow  and  solemn  accents,  was   borne  to  every 
beholder  along  the  whispering  breeze. 

"  Unhappy  people  !  Truth  alone  conducts  you  to  happiness  : 
Her  path  is  plain — her  progress  is  pleasant — her  end  is  glorious. 
Other  guides  obtrude  upon  you  their  services,  but  they  impose 
on  your  credulity,  and  will  betray  your  confidence.  Ignorance 
was  born  blind  :  Prejudice  has  put  out  her  own  eyes  :  Error 
speaks  but  to  deceive,  and  allures  but  to  destroy :  Ambition 
seeks  you  as  her  prey:  Tradition  is  importunate  without  rea- 
son :  Pride  is  the  sister  of  Folly,  and  without  goodness,  and  al- 
ways carries  about  with  her  the  weapon  on  which  she  will  one 
day  fall :  and  selfishness,  with  fascinating  smile,  presents  you 
with  her  bowl  of  deadly  poison.  Too  long  have  you  followed 
these  fallacious  guides.  I  am  Truth  : — It  is  my  province  to 
conduct  you  in  the  path  of  life,  to  the  bosom  of  the  God  of  truth 
and  love."  She  ceased,  and  while  thousands  yet  listened  for 
something  more,  her  softened  close  seemed  to  die  away  in  a  dis- 
tant strain  of  heavenly  music. 

But  for  my  triangular  bed,  this  delightful  dream  might  have 
continued,  but  here  the  antipodes  of  my  bed  fellow  gave  me  so 
violent  a  shock  that  I  awoke,  and  behold  it  was  a  dream  !  But 
having  now  got  back  to  the  first  floor  of  my  dream,  it  appeared 
that  I  had  been  waked  at  a  very  critical  moment ;  for  I  heard  a 
great  uproar  and  running  about  the  house  below,  and  somebody 
broke  into  our  chamber,  and,  in  great  haste,  told  us  that  the 
house  was  all  on  fire,  which  the  bursting  of  smoke  and  flame 
into  our  chamber  but  too  well  confirmed.  We  sprung  out  of 
bed,  and  hastened  down  stairs,  where  we  learned  that  the  landlord, 
who  always  slept  in  the  apex,  or  upper  angle  of  his  house, 
because  he  loved  a  lofty  situation,  was  hemmed  in  by  the  flames, 
and  likely  to  perish.  How  it  proved  I  cannot  say,  for  here  the 
cry  of  fire  and  ringing  of  bells,  in  the  city,  awaked  me  in  good 
earnest. 

1  have  heard  it  remarked  by  an  old  observer,  that  the  first 
thought  which  strikes  the  mind  after  waking,  is  generally  the  best 
clue  to  the  interpretation  of  a  dream.  Whether  the  first  of  these 
dreams  is  allegorical,  I  leave  it  for  the  reader  to  judge  ;  and  whe- 
ther the  second  is  prophetic,  events  will  declare. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


121 


No.  IV. 


Why  is  the  word  of  God  called  ^'- the  sword  of  the  Spirit  f^ 
There  is  great  force,  appropriateness,  and  beauty  in  this  meta- 
phor. In  ancient  warfare,  the  sword  was  the  principal  weapon  ; 
was  of  such  use  and  importance,  that  it  is  often  put  for  the  whole 
offensive  armour  ;  and  persons  slain  in  war,  are  said  to  be  slain 
of  the  sword.  The  scriptures  speak  of  pestilence,  sword,  and 
famine,  as  the  three  great  scourges  of  men.  The  sword  of  the 
Spirit  is  that  weapon  in  the  hand  of  God  by  which  his  enemies 
are  subdued,  and  brought  to  bow  to  the  sceptre  of  his  grace. 
"  The  word  of  God  is  quick  and  powerful,  sharper  than  a  two- 
edged  sword." 

The  object  of  this  number  is  a  solemn  appeal  to  all  who 
shall  read  it : — to  the  friends  and  the  enemies  of  truth,  to  the 
people  of  this  country  at  large,  to  this  city,  and  to  the  men  in 
this  city  with  whom  this  controversy  principally  lies.  I  appeal 
to  their  consciences  before  God,  and  I  ask  them,  what  general 
strain  of  preaching — what  scheme  of  doctrine,  in  our  own 
country,  has  had  most  influence  in  promoting  the  great  work 
of  reformation — in  turning  many  to  righteousnes  ?  What  strain 
of  doctrine  has  had  the  happiest  influence  in  turning  mankind 
from  their  vices,  and  causing  them  to  assume  the  profession, 
and  exhibit  the  evidences,  of  religion,  in  their  life  and  conver- 
sation 1  Under  what  strain  of  preaching,  and  through  what  parts 
of  the  Union  do  Sabbath  breaking,  intemperance,  profanity,  de- 
bauchery, and  gambling,  least  prevail  ? 

Alas  !  this  will  be  read  by  many,  probably,  with  a  careless 
reflection  about  provincial  prejudices.  But  the  truth  cannot  be 
altered.  And  the  truth  is,  that  what  is  here  usually  intended 
by  the  New-England  strain  of  doctrine,  including  divine  sove- 
reignty, general  atonement,  moral  inability,  a  probationary  state, 
the  invitation  of  the  gospel  to  all  men,  and  their  collateral 
points,  have  been  the  doctrines  in  this  country  which  have 
been  attended  with  revivals  of  religion,  and  great  reformations 
11 


122 

among   all  ranks  of  people.      Wherever    these  doctrines   have 
been  faithfully  preached  these    salutary  effects    have  followed- 

On  the  contrary,  show  me  the  city,  the  town,  the  village,  the 
tract  of  country,  where  these  doctrines  have  not  been  preached, 
but  where  they  have  been  opposed,  beat  down,  ridiculed,  and 
cast  out,  as  many  in  this  city  endeavour  to  do  by  them,  and  I 
will  show  you  a  place  where  religion  is  little  thought  of,  where 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit  has  lain  dormant,  where  the  work  of 
God  has  rarely,  if  ever,  been  carried  on.  God  is  a  sovereign, 
and  surely  is  not  limited  to  any  certain  course  of  means  ;  yet, 
ordinarily,  where  the  proper  means  are  used  the  desired  effects 
will  follow.  From  the  days  of  Edwards,  till  this  time,  in  those 
parts  of  this  country  where  these  doctrines  have  been  preached, 
there  have  been  frequent  reformations — extending  often  through 
the  towats  of  a  county ;  sometimes  for  a  hundred  miles  in  ex- 
tent ;  sometimes,  indeed,  limited  to  a  town  or  neighbourhood. 
A.  t  the  present  moment,  indeed,  for  several  years  past,  and  al- 
most without  intermission,  large  districts  have  been  favoured 
with  what,  from  their  fruits  and  effects,  we  are  authorized  to 
call  outpourings  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

And,  I  ask,  for  I  will  not  be  deterred  by  a  false  delicacy,  or 
by  the  fear  of  what  prejudice  or  malevolence  may  say  ;  I  ask, 
what  is,  and  has  been,  the  religious  state  of  those  parts  of  our 
country  where  these  doctrines  have  never  been  heard  ?  Though, 
indeed,  as  I  said  in  a  former  number,  these  doctrines  have 
been  disseminated,  more  or  less,  though  in  some  places  but 
transiently,  in  every  part  of  the  Union  ;  and  I  repeat,  that,  in 
every  part  of  the  Union,  they  have  been,  more  or  less,  favoured 
with  tokens  of  divine  approbation. 

With  regard  to  these  revivals  of  religion,  I  am  aware  that 
various  opinions  are  entertained.  I  am  by  no  means  about  to 
deny  that  some  persons,  who,  on  these  occasions,  espouse  and 
profess  religion,  do  not  continue  afterwards  to  give  evidence  of 
sincerity  ;  yet,  every  man  is  awfully  concerned  to  see  to  it,  that 
in  speaking  against  these  revivals,  he  does  not  speak  against 
the  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  thereby  blaspheme  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

If    these   revivals    are    not    attended    with    indications    and 


123 

fruits,  which  every  Christian  will  allow  must  attend  religion, 
let  them  be  dishonoured  with  the  name  of  delusion  :  for  instance, 
they  are  usually  accompanied  widi  seriousness,  anxiety,  and 
alarm.  But  is  this  an  evidence  of  delusion  ?  When  a  man  be- 
comes convinced  that  he  is  a  sinner,  and  exposed  to  eternal 
perdition  thereby,  is  it  unreasonable  to  suppose  he  will  feel 
great  alarm  ?  Are  his  fears  groundless  ?  Rather,  are  not  those 
who  feel  no  anxiety,  although  exposed  to  God's  eternal  wrath, 
in  a  state  of  complete  infatuation  ?  Was  ever  delusion  so  grea  t 
as  that  which  reigns  over  the  man  that  can  despise,  equally,  both 
the  favour  and  the  wrath  of  God  ? 

Religious  awakenings  are  usually  attended  with  seriousness ; 
a  desire  to  frequent  places  of  public  worship  and  instruction  ; 
and  a  total  cessation  of  ordinary  amusements,  and  even  some- 
times of  business.  But,  are  these  signs  of  delusion  ?  Would 
it  not  be  happy  for  all  men,  if  they  would  seek  first  the  king- 
dom of  God,  with  great  importunity  ?  Are  not  the  hopes  of 
heaven,  and  the  fears  of  hell,  when  brought  home  to  the  mind, 
stronger  motives  of  action  than  our  ordinary  amusements  and 
pursuits  ?  "  What  is  a  man  profited,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world, 
and  lose  his  own  soul  ?" 

If  these  reformations  do  not  reform  mankind,  they  certainly 
are  not  the  work  of  God.  If  they  do  not  cause  the  drunkard 
to  become  temperate,  the  thief  and  the  cheat  to  become  ho- 
nest men,  the  debauched  and  the  lascivious  to  become  chaste, 
the  swearer  to  become  decent  in  his  language,  the  immoral 
to  become  regular  and  exemplary  ;  if  they  do  not  make  the  re- 
lations of  life  more  endearing,  by  being  sustained  better,  and  the 
duties  of  life  delightful,  by  a  habitual  performance  of  them,  they 
have  no  claim  to  be  of  God.  But,  if  they  produce  these  effects, 
and  actually  make  men  better,  more  punctual  in  the  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  the  first  and  second  table,  they  are  not  the  work 
of  the  devil  ;  but  it  is  the  work  of  the  devil  to  censure  and  de- 
spise them,  and  bring  them  into  disrepute.  It  is  the  work  of  the 
devil  to  laugh — no,  devils  cannot  laugh  when  they  see  men  con- 
cerned about  their  salvation. 

Is  it   an  extraordinary  thing,  that  a   discovery  of  the  fulness 
and  beauty  of  the  Saviour,  his  willingness  and  power  to  save  the 


124 

soul,  should  occasion  sinners  to  rejoice  ?  Who  is  there,  that 
had  but  a  feeble  glimpse  of  the  great  plan  of  salvation,  through 
Christ,  who  would  not  rejoice,  even  with  joy  unspeakable,  and 
full  of  glory  ?  It  is  surely  no  light  thing  to  be  redeemed  from 
the  curse  of  the  law  ;  "  to  be  made  free  by  the  Son,"  and  to 
become  an  heir  of  his  glory,  a  subject  of  his  blessed  and  eternal 
kingdom. 

If  those  people  who  are  concerned,  and  greatly  alarmed  for 
their  eternal  interests  ;  who  seem  to  forsake  all  other  pursuits 
for  those  of  religion  ;  who  rejoice  in  Christ,  and  break  off  their 
sins  by  righteousness,  and  their  iniquities  by  turning  to  God  : 
I  say,  if  these  are  not  the  religious — if  these  are  not  Christians, 
who,  and  where  are  they  ?  Are  they  those  who  go  merrily  on 
through  life,  without  regrets  for  the  past,  or  fears  for  the  future  ; 
who  are  bewildered  in  the  avocations  of  business,  or  fascina- 
tions of  pleasure  ;  who  are  not  troubled  with  superstitious  fears 
of  hell,  and  feel  no  apprehension  of  divine  displeasure  ;  who 
neither  trouble  themselves,  nor  others,  with  obtrusive  concerns 
of  a  future  world  1  Are  these  the  followers  of  Christ,  "  who  are 
not  conformed  to  the  world,  but  are  transformed  by  the  renewing 
of  their  minds  ?" 

Are  the  gay  and  thoughtless,  whose  hours  are  divided  between 
routs  and  assemblies,  entertainments  and  parties  of  pleasure  ; 
the  proud  and  ambitious,  whose  stern  and  haughty  eye  is  in- 
tensely fixed  on  the  glittering  summit  of  fame  and  power  1  Are 
these  the  followers  of  Christ,  and  shall  they  hear  the  high  and 
solemn  benediction,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father  ?" 

When  a  number  of  men  associate  together  from  motives  of 
pride  and  ambition  ;  build  themselves  a  splendid  house  of  wor- 
ship, and  endeavour  to  fill  it,  by  artfully  drawing  to  it  members 
of  other  churches  ;  alluring  by  intrigue,  by  whispers,  and  incan- 
tations, those  abortions  of  slander,  the  still-born  brood  of  false- 
hood, and  all  under  the  name  of  proselytism — is  this  the  church 
of  Christ  ? 

There  are  many  who  wish  people  to  become  religious  in  a 
more  rational  way,  with  less  noise  and  disturbance  than  usually 
attend  these  reformations.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  wish  to  ex- 
clude reason  from  the  faith  or  practice  of  Christians  :  but,  is  it 


125 

unreasonable  that  a  concern  so  vast  as  the  soul's  salvation,  and, 
especially,  so  opposite  to  the  general  habits  and  tempers  of  man- 
kind as  religion,  should  become  a  public   sentiment — should  af- 
fect a  whole  society  with  a  strong  and  simultaneous  sensation ; 
nay,  should  create    a   public  passion  ?     All  great  interests,   all 
public  concerns,  have  this  effect,  though  they  are  far  less   im- 
portant than  religion.     What  is  the  effect,  when  a  nation  is  agi- 
ated  by  the    spirit   of  war  ?     The  enthusiasm  descends  even  to 
children ;  the   theme  resounds  in  the  songs  of  the  milk-maid  and 
shepherd — in  the  conversation    of  the    peasant  and  plough-boy, 
What  if  the  inhabitants   of  an  entire  county,  or  province,   were 
about  to  remove  from   one  kingdom  to  another;  a  general  senti- 
ment would  be   awakened,  and  it  would  become  the  topic  of  pub- 
lic conversation  and  attention — of  animation  and  enthusiasm. 

Where  great  numbers  embrace  religion  at  one  time,  it  is  a 
true  and  real  emigration,  and  one  infinitely  more  important  than 
a  removal  to  India  :  "  They  are  translated  out  of  the  kingdom 
of  Satan  into  the  kingdom  of  God*s  dear  Son."  Is  it  wonderful* 
if  it  should  excite  strong  and  lively  sensations  ?  and  would  it 
not  be  more  wonderful,  if  it  should  not  incorporate  with  it  the 
natural  passions  of  the  mind,  and  sometimes  be  marked  with 
enthusiasm.  Dr.  Young  says,  "  an  undevout  astronomer  is 
mad:"  but,  it  is  easier  to  study  astronomy  without  devotion, 
than  it  is  to  feel  religion  without  passion. 

We  are  not  required  to  love  our  neighbour  better  than  our- 
selves ;  but  the  great  apostle  of  the  gentiles  declares,  "  if  we 
are  beside  ourselves,  it  is  for  your  sakes."  If  an  apostle  could 
be  beside  himself,  could  almost  lose  the  command  of  his  rea- 
son for  others,  surely  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  nor  faulted, 
if  men  are  overwhelmed  with  fear,  elevated  with  hope,  enrap- 
tured with  joy,  in  contemplation  of  the  amazing  destinies  of 
their  own  souls. 

I  fear  that  these  nice  objections  to  religious  revivals  origi- 
nate from  wrong  views  of  religion  itself;  they  seem  evidently 
to  spring  from  a  disgust  at  the  sight  of  great  numbers  seeking 
for  salvation  at  once.  They  want  people  should  keep  still,  and 
say  nothing  about  their  hopes  or  fears  of  futurity.  They  are  not 
at  all  disgusted  at  the  strong  passions,  and  enthusiastic  feelings, 
11* 


126 

often  manifested  at  horse  races,  in  theatres,  at  concerts  of  mn^ 
sic,  in  assemblies  where  great  events  are  celebrated,  and  in  the 
field  of  battle.  Man,  it  seems,  may  be  impassioned  about  every- 
thing but  religion ;  there  he  must  be  cold  as  marble,  unfeelmg 
as  clay,  dull  as  lead.  He  must,  by  all  means,  have  the  forms 
of  religion,  and  that  with  as  much  pomp,  splendor,  and  cere- 
mony as  you  please  ;  but  he  must  go  through  those  forms  with 
as  little  ardour,  and  as  lifeless  a  monotony,  as  the  moonlight 
shadows  of  the  churchyard  move  over  the  congregation  of  the 
dead. 

Whether  the  revivals  of  religion  in  this  country  have  been 
productive  of  good,  which,  at  least,  would  be  evidence  in  their 
favour,  I  leave  those  who -possess  the  means  to  judge  for  them- 
selves ;  and,  in  the  silent  hour  of  calm  reflection,  they  will 
judge  justly.  In  the  heat  of  controversy,  and  under  the  pain- 
ful stimulus  of  contradiction,  good  men  err  in  judgment  by 
overlooking  the  evidence  of  facts ;  but  when  these  casual  clouds 
are  past  over,  the  sun  breaks  forth. 

But,  wherever  reformations  are  discountenanced  and  spoken 
against  by  public  teachers,  they  are  seldom  observed  to  take 
place  ;  and,  I  call  ■  upon  the  reader  of  these  numbers,  to  look 
around  him  in  this  city,  and  mark  in  what  congregations  these 
appearances  have  occured  ;  for,  while  I  mean  to  cast  no  re  - 
flections,  I  neither  mean  to  flatter  the  vanity  of  men.  The  truth 
will  bear  its  own  weight,  and  will  approve  itself  to  every  man's 
conscience  before  God. 

The  strain  of  preaching  which,  in  the  former  series,  I  have 
styled  triangular,  because  incessantly  urging  three  grand  points, 
which  I  consider  as  erroneous,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ob- 
serve, is  rarely,  if  ever,  attended  with  salutary  effects  :  it  does 
not  carry  conviction  to  the  mind ;  men's  understandings  revolt 
from  it.  Tell  men  that  they  are  condemned  for  a  crime  they 
never  committed  ;  that  they  will  be  punished  for  what  they  can- 
not do;  or,  that  they  will  be  doubly  and  aggravatedly  con- 
demned for  not  believing  in  a  Saviour  who  never  died  for  them, 
and  they  will  feel  no  conviction.  However  they  may  force 
themselves  into  an  involuntary  assent,  into  an  artificial,  as  I  have 
already  said,  a  kind  of    technical  belief  of  such  propositions, 


127 

there  will  be  no  conviction  of  the  understanding ;  for  there  can 
be  none.  They  may,  indeed,  say,  and  perhaps  truly,  "  my  teach- 
er is  a  great  divine,  has  studied  these  things,  and  surely  ought 
to  know ;  and  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  surrender  my  under- 
standing to  his  opinions  and  doctrines."  But,  alas !  the  mind 
drawn  up  to  this  tension  is  like  an  elastic  bow,  which  owes  its 
figure  to  the  cord  whch  holds  it ;  its  strength  is  overpowered, 
but  not  its  tendency. 

Many  of  the  doctrines  of  revelation  are  such,  as  human  rea- 
son would  never  reach,  unaided  by  divine  light ;  but  being  re- 
vealed, there  is  no  doctrine  of  revelation  apparantly  absurd  or 
repugnant  to  reason.  The  three  grand  points,  however,  which 
form  the  triangle,  are  not  the  only  ones  which,  in  their  convic- 
tion on  the  mind,  remind  me  of  the  bended  bow  :  their  notion 
of  faith  is  inexplicable,  and  their  idea  of  justification  covered 
with  mist.  As  for  faith,  it  is  not  opinion,  assent,  reason^  know- 
ledge,  nor  love ;  it  is  nothing  which  properly  belongs  to  human 
perceptions,  nor  exercises;  I  have  sometimes  heard  them  call 
it  a  divine  principle,  but  never  could  learn  what  principle  was, 
or  wherein  it  consisted.  If  I  have  been  able  to  learn  what  they 
mean  by  justification,  it  is,  that  a  certain  quantity  of  Christ's 
righteousness  is  taken  and  put  into  the  Christian,  on  account  of 
which  he  is  justified.  The  scriptures  teach  us  that  Christ  has 
atoned  for  sin,  and  the  sinner  is  fully  pardoned  and  freely  justi- 
fied, in  consideration  of  what  Christ  has  done  to  magnify  the 
law  of  God :  but  the  notion  of  a  transfer  of  Christ's  righteous- 
ness, so  as  to  make  it  the  righteousness  of  the  sinner,  is  using 
words  without  ideas. 

Opposition  to  the  doctrines  which  have  almost  uniformly 
marked  the  course  of  reformations  in  this  country,  and,  in  the 
hands  of  God,  have  been  the  cause  of  those  reformations,  can 
be  regarded  in  no  other  light  than  as  a  deadly  aim  at  reforma- 
tion itself.  He  who  strikes  at  the  cause,  strikes  with  a  bolder 
hand,  and  with  higher  aim,  than  he  who  strikes  at  the  effect. 
He  who  proves  that  a  reformation,  so  called,  is  but  an  excite- 
ment of  natural  passion,  and  that  its  subjects  may  apostatize 
from  their  profession,  proves  little ;  at  least,  but  a  local  fact ; 
but  he  who  makes  war  on  that  strain  of  preaching  and  scheme 


128 

of  doctrine,  which  has  been  followed  by  nearly  all  the  revivals 
of  religion  in  a  nation,  if  he  succeed,  will  not  be  trouble  d  with 
apostacies,  for  he  will  see  no  reformations  ;  he  will  have  the 
pleasure,  if  it  may  be  called  a  pleasure,  of  seeing  people  go 
carelessly  on  through  life,  with  no  troublesome  anxieties  about 
religion,  or  the  life  to  come :  he  will  tell  them,  from  sabbath  to 
sabbath,  that  "  Christ  died  for  none  but  the  elect ;  that  he  died 
for  them,  because  they  were  the  elect ;  and  that  when  he  makes 
known  to  them  their  election,  then  they  ought  to  love  and  obey 
him :"  they  will  make  their  own  improvement,  "  that  all  anxieties 
about  salvation  are  useless  and  vain.  Why  should  we  borrow 
trouble,  or  anticipate  evil  ?  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow 
we  die.  If  he  has  died  for  us,  he  will  make  it  known  to  us  m 
time  ;  if  not,  then  we  owe  him  no  gratitude  ;  and  as  we  were  all  con- 
demned in  Adam,  we  have  nothing  on  our  own  account  to  regret." 

That  people  will  quiet  their  consciences,  and  repose  calmly, 
and  sleep  soundly  on  this  triangular  bed,  is  as  sure  as  that  the 
sun  rises  and  sets.  This  triple,  nay,  quadruple  thraldom,  in 
which  their  own  voluntary  agency  is  in  no  way  implicated, 
soothes  their  slumber,  and  not  a  little  gratifies  their  pride ;  still 
more  so  does  the  soporific  dose  "  descend  into  their  bowels  like 
water,  and  like  oil  into  their  bones,''  when  a  religion  is  held 
up  before  them  which  is  no  business  of  theirs  ;  which  gives  them 
a  happy  passiveness,  and  is  every  whit,  and  in  all  respects,  as 
distinct  from  their  moral  feelings  and  powers,  as  the  state  to 
which  it  off*ers  a  remedy  is  without  their  accountability  or 
blame.  As  they  had  nothing  to  do  in  bringing  themselves  into 
sin ;  nothing  to  do  in  getting  themselves  out  of  it,  so  they  are 
highly  satisfied  to  learn,  that  they  have  nothing  to  do  when  fairly 
out  of  it.  As  for  faith,  which  is  the  body  of  their  rehgion,  it 
is  no  exercise  of  theirs,  and  has  no  connexion  with  their  moral 
exercises  in  its  origin,  nature,  or  object,  for  it  is  neither  per- 
ception nor  volition,  knowledge  nor  love.  They  have  no 
virtue,  for  there  is  no  such  thing  ;  and,  in  fine,  they  seem  to  be 
allowed  to  have  nothing  on  earth,  properly  to  be  called  theirs, 
but  a  little  selfishness. 

Such   a  strain  of  preaching  will   scarcely  be  followed  by  a 
spirit  of  reformation.    The  process  of  conversion  and  of  Chris- 


129 

tianizing  under  these  tenets  will,  indeed,  make  little  noise  :  a  per- 
son goes  to  his  minister,  and  tells  him  he  has  some  thoughts  about 
religion.  The  clergyman  asks  him,  "  Do  you  verily  believe 
that  all  men  are  justly  condemned  for  the  sin  of  Adam?" 
*'  Yes."  "  Do  you  acknowledge  yourself  worthy  of  endless 
misery  for  what  he  did  ?"  ♦'  Yes."  "  Do  you  believe  yourself 
totally  incapacitated  to  obey  God,  or  do  any  thing  which  he  re- 
quires ?"  "  Yes."  "  And  can  you  not  love  Christ,  who  has  been 
so  good  as  to  die  for  you,  and  has  done,  and  will  do  every  thing 
for  you,  and  will  carry  you  to  heaven,  and  make  you  eternally 
happy  there  ?"  "  O  yes,  I  should  be  very  ungrateful  not  to  love 
one  who  died  for  me,  and  will  save  me."  "  Very  well  !  you  have 
nothing  to  do  but  confirm  yourself  in  these  sentiments  ;  you  had 
better  join  the  church  ;  there  is  reason  to  believe  you  are  one  of 
the  elect." 

Let  it  not  be  understood  that  I  here  pretend  to  give  all  the 
words  that  pass  between  the  catechist  and  his  catechumen, 
but  I  give  the  great  features,  and  the  leading  points.  Enough 
more  words  are  used ;  but  as  he  is  never  made  to  feel  the 
true  blame  of  his  condition,  he  never  feels  a  proper  repent- 
ance, neither  can  he  have  just  conceptions  of  the  nature  or 
application  of  the  remedy.  These  convictions  are  sufficiently 
silent  for  the  most  fastidious,  and  are  followed  by  conversions 
to  a  selfish,  opinionated,  intolerant  temper  and  character ;  even, 
sometimes,  to  that  degree,  that  a  candid  observer  is  at  a  loss 
whether  such  a  conversion  is  more  the  subject  of  felicitation 
than  of  regret.  If  not  twofold  more  a  child  of  hell,  he  is,  at 
least,  twofold  more  a  child  of  prejudice,  bigotry,  and  persecu- 
tion. 

If  some  men  shall  flutter  and  flounce  remarkably  in  reading 
these  remarks,  let  them  see  to  it,  lest  they  confirm  the  suspi- 
cion that  they  are  the  "  wounded  birds." 

As  this  Number  is  an  appeal  to  the  eye  of  the  public  respecting 
the  usefulness  and  importance  of  revivals  of  religion,  I  deplore 
that  I  am  compelled  to  add,  that  the  instances  which  have 
come  under  the  inspection  of  this  city,  are  mournfully  few. 
Look   into   those    large    congregations    whose    fame    has   been 


130 

spread  wide  by  the  splendour  of  the  great  names  of  the  men, 
who  are  "the  angels  of  those  churches."  And,  I  ask  those 
"  angels"  whether  they  would  not  rejoice  to  see  one  general 
reformation  pervading  all  their  assemblies,  and  spreading 
through  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of  their  congregations  ? 
I  am  certain  the  angels  of  heaven  would  rejoice.  Would  they 
not  be  glad  to  see  all  their  people  roused  at  once,  to  secure 
the  interests  of  their  souls  ?  Would  they  not  rejoice  to  see  the 
whole  population  of  this  capital  moved,  as  by  one  spirit,  to  se- 
cure one  grand  object?  Surely,  such  a  moment  would  not  be 
greater  than  the  weight  of  the  concern  depending.  A  heathen 
monarch,  of  a  much  greater  city  than  this,  onee  rose  up  from 
his  throne,  and  covered  himself  with  sackcloth — was  followed 
by  his  court  and  nobles,  and  by  all  the  people ;  even  food  was 
interdicted,  in  a  solemn  fast,  for  three  days.  This  was  done 
because  God  had  declared  that  Nineveh  should  be  destroyed. 
And  is  there  no  reason  to  believe  that  God's  anger  burns 
against  this  city  ?  Has  not  the  cry  of  its  wickedness  gone  up  to 
heaven !  And  would  not  a  reformation  that  should  visit  every 
house,  and  forcibly  seize  every  mind,  be  desirable  ?  Would  it 
not  occasion  joy  in  heaven?  What  if  all  the  immense  crowds 
that  move  through  the  streets  were  suddenly  and  strongly  im- 
pressed with  the  belief  that  they  were  infinitely  vile  in  the 
sight  of  God  ;  that  they  were  hastening  to  the  bar  of  judgment, 
and  to  an  eternal  world  of  retribution  ?  What  sudden  alterations 
should  we  see  !  VTould  our'  streets  resound  by  night  with  hor- 
rible oaths  and  execrations  ?  Would  hundreds  of  houses  be 
crowded  with  scenes  of  drunkenness,  debauchery,  violence, 
and  obscenity  ?  Would  our  docks,  and  vessels,  and  lanes,  and 
alleys,  teem  with  wretched  people  in  whom  the  last  efforts  of 
vice  have  left  the  semblance  of  humanity,  but  identified  with 
every  thing  loathsome  and  detestable  ?  Would  even  crowds  of 
chidren  be  heard  profanely  vociferating  the  awful  name  of 
God  in  their  common  sports  and  pastimes  ?  Alas  !  it  is  not  con- 
sidered that  the  interests  and  destines  of  every  one  of  those 
souls  are  as  truly  great  as  those  of  the  first  rank  of  people. 
The  shadowy  vale  of  death  once  past,  and   the   soul   discumber- 


131 

ed  of  its  adventitious  advantages,  there  will  appear  little  distinc- 
tion between  the  prince  and  beggar. 

But  what  would  be  the  effect  of  such  a  reformation  as  this  ? 
Would  it  not  be  the  theme  of  general  conversation  ?  What 
crowds  would  throng  the  churches  ?  And  would  it  be  admi- 
rable, if,  under  the  strong  impulse  of  a  general  sensation,  it 
should  become  what  may  be  termed  a  public  passion  ?  Perhaps 
even  business,  for  a  while,  might  be,  in  a  manner,  suspended ;  and 
the  ordinary,  even  the  innocent,  amusements  and  diversions  of  the 
city  would  be  forgotten. 

A  gloomy  scene!  methinks  I  hear  some  one  say;  and  yet, 
reader,  every  one  of  these  gay  people  will  soon  see  gloomier 
scenes  than  this.  The  hour  of  death,  and  the  solemn  audit  be- 
fore the  throne  of  judgment,  will  be  more  gloomy  and  dreadful, 
and,  without  reformation,  there  will  be  eternal  gloom  and  hor- 
ror. Nor  yet  would  such  a  scene  as  this  be  attended  with  so 
much  gloom  and  misery  as  now  pervades  the  city.  Ineffable 
joy  and  pleasure  would  fill  every  pious  mind  at  the  prospect  of 
thousands  of  people  forsaking  wickedness  and  turning  to  God. 
Religion  is  not  of  a  gloomy,  melancholy  nature,  and  the  con- 
cern and  anxiety  attending  reformations  is  caused,  not  by  reli- 
gion, but  by  a  consciousness  of  the  want  of  it. 

Be  it  that  such  a  reformation,  in  this  city,  would  be  attended 
with  some  instances  of  delusion — some  indications  of  fanaticism  ; 
how  much  deeper  is  the  delusion  that  now  reigns  over  the  great 
mass  of  people,  while  they  neglect  their  eternal  interests,  and 
despise,  and  dishonour  the  God  that  made  them.  A  stronger 
fanaticism  hurries  them  onward  towards  eternal  ruin  than  that  at- 
tends the  religions  enthusiast  in  the  favour  of  his  devotions. 
The  stern  and  lofty  front  of  wickedness  everywhere  displayed 
— everywhere  menacing — everywhere  daring  and  obtrusive, 
defies  every  thing  short  of  almighty  power.  But  before  the 
spirit  of  God  be  sent  *'  to  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  of  righteous- 
ness, and  of  judgment,"  it  shall  melt  like  wax — it  shall  vanish 
like  smoke,  "  for  strong  is  his  hand,  and  high  is  his  right  hand." 

Such  an  event  could  not  take  place  but  with  a  general  and 
strong   sensation.     Any  judge   of  human    nature    will    perceive 


132 

that  an  irreligious — a  wicked  man  cannot  suddenly  pass  from 
that  to  a  religious  state  without  great  anxiety  and  alarm ;  with- 
out unusual  agitation  of  mind.  It  is  not  merely  to  say,  "  I 
will  now  become  religious,"  and  the  work  is  done  :  habits 
corroborated  by  time,  and  identified  with  nature,  are  not  thus 
broken  through.  The  allurements  of  wickedness  are  strong, 
and  are  known,  from  all  experience,  to  be  formidable.  A  drunk- 
ard does  not  lightly  say,  "  I  will  from  this  day  become  tempe- 
rate :"  the  profane  blasphemer,  "  I  will  henceforth  use  no  more 
profane  language :"  the  dishonest,  the  dissipated,  the  covetous, 
the  liar,  *'  I  will  now  alter  my  course."  I  mention  these  classes, 
as  pre-eminently  wicked,  but  every  man,  even  with  a  much  fairer 
exterior,  in  his  train  of  feelings,  in  his  heart  and  affections,  is  as 
truly  irreligious  as  these  classes. 

Religious  awakenings  and  fears  are  by  no  means  delusion 
nor  enthusiasm.  They  do  but  present  truth  and  reality  to  the 
mind  with  their  proper  interest  and  influence.  A  man  on  his 
death-bed  is  greatly  alarmed,  feels  strong  fears,  and  calls  for 
advice  and  prayers.  Even  courts  of  justice  and  legislatures, 
when  a  man  is  condemned,  and  going  to  execution,  appoint  him 
religious  instruction  ;  send  him  a  clergyman  to  prepare  him — 
for  what  ?  For  the  very  same  event  to  which  every  soul  in  this 
city  is  hastening  :  to  prepare  him  for  death — for  the  solemn 
trial — for  eternity !  Who  objects  to  the  propriety  of  this  humane 
regulation  ?  Who  dares  not  think  it  decorous,  nay,  awfully  im- 
portant, that  a  man  on  his  death-bed  should  feel  solemnity,  anx- 
iety, earnestness,  fear — should  pray,  should  ask  prayers  t  His 
eternal  state  is  now  to  be  decided  ;  he  is  now  to  stand  that  trial 
where  there  is  no  disguise  ;  to  hear  that  sentence  from  which 
lies  no  appeal. 

But  the  thousands  that  swarm  in  this  city  are  in  that  same 
state.  They  may,  indeed,  and  some  will,  no  doubt,  live  longer, 
and  some  perhaps  not.  Many  of  them  will  go  as  suddenly,  far 
more  unexpectedly,  and  the  danger  is  that  they  will  go  without 
preparation.  A  dreadful  infatuation  reigns  over  mankind.  The 
interests  of  the  soul,  its  good  estate,  and  salvation,  are  as  much 
greater,  more  imperative,  and  grand,  than  any  temporal  concern, 


133 

as  eternity  is  longer  than  time,  as  endless  pains  and  pleasures 
are  more  important   than  those   of  a  moment. 

The  truth  is,  if  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  had  but  a  cor- 
rect idea  of  their  state  and  prospects,  they  would  universally  feel 
that  deep  and  trembling  anxiety  which  a  man  feels  on  a  death- 
bed, or  a  criminal  under  sentence  of  death.  When  compared 
with  a  vast  and  boundless  futurity,  every  concern  of  life  would 
shrink  into  nothing.  They  would  feel  as  though  the  change 
was  present  ;  the  next  step  and  eternal  scenes  would  open  ;  life 
is  past,  and  the  dread  tribunal  is  before  them.  Then,  all  must 
depend  on  the  favour  of  the  Almighty  Judge.  But  have  they 
done  any  thing  to  secure  his  favour  or  deprecate  his  wrath  ?  No  ! 
The  great  body  of  them  have  equally  neglected  his  favour  and 
his  wrath,  have  equally  despised  his  anger  and  his  love  ;  have 
felt  no  regrets  for  sin  ;  have  never  made  a  prayer  ;  have  seldom 
used  the  name  of  God  but  in  a  profane  oath.  And  are  such 
people  fit  for  heaven  ?  A  glimpse  of  their  condition  would  con- 
vince them  that  they  were  suited  to  no  place  but  a  region  of 
sin    and  misery. 

Then  they  would  think  of  the  Omniscient  eye  that  sees  them — 
the  Almighty  power  that  holds  them.  They  would  think  what 
goodness  had  been  answered  with  what  ingratitude,  what  favour 
by  what  perverseness,  what  love  with  what  hatred.  It  would 
occur  to  them  that  perhaps  their  crimes  are  already  past  for- 
giveness, and  that  divine  displeasure  may  now  be  ready  to  cut 
them  off.  With  such  impressions  they  could  lor  a  moment  en- 
tertain no  resolution  but  that  of  devoting  so  late  an  hour  to  so 
important  an  exigence.  I  need  not  tell  what  they  would  do  or 
say  :  every  reflecting  mind  will  for  itself  strike  a  general  out- 
line of  the  course  they  would  take.  It  is  the  course  generally 
pursued  by  persons  who  are  the  subjects  of  great  awakenings. 
"  Who,"  says  Mr.  Locke,  "  could  come  within  the  bare  possibility 
of  infinite  misery"  without  fear  and  alarm  ?  But  if  all  the  mul- 
titudes in  this  city,  excepting  the  comparatively  small  number 
of  truly  pious,  were  convinced  that  they  were  not  only  "  with- 
in the  bare  possibility"  of  endless  misery,  but  were  under  sen- 
tence of  the  law  of  God,  as  well  as  hastening  by  their  own  vo- 
luntary course  to  that  end  ;  that  it  was  not  only  possible,  but 
12 


134 

liighiy  probable,  that  that  would  be  their  condition  ;  nay,  that 
there  was  no  possibility  of  their  escape  but  by  deep  repentance, 
and  thorough  reformation,  but  by  the  pardon  and  acceptance  of 
Qod  through  Jesus  Christ,  they  would  feel  and  manifest  llie 
greatest  alarm  and  amazement. 

That  this  would  be  the  case  here,  we  may  be  assured  from 
the  experience  of  all  Christendom  since  the  reformation  ;  and,  if 
possible,  more  from  the  experience  of  former  years,  and  other 
countries.  "  There  were  great  awakenings,"  says  President 
Edwards,  "  in  1625,  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  when  it  was  a  com- 
mon thing  for  people  on  hearing  the  word  of  God  preached  to 
be  seized  with  great  terror  and  alarm,  and  who  became,  after- 
w-ards,  most  solid  and  lively  Christians.  The  same  author  in- 
forms of  many  in  France  that  were  so  wonderfully  affected 
with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  in  the  times  of  those  famous 
divines,  Farel  and  Viret,  that,  for  a  time,  they  could  not  follow 
their  secular  business."  The  same  writer  mentions  similar  ac- 
counts from  Ireland  and  other  places. 

President  Edwards  also  quotes  a  letter  from  his  father,  in 
which  his  father  observes,  that  "it  was  a  common  thing,  when 
the  famous  Mr.  John  Rogers  was  preaching,  for  some  of  his  hear- 
ers even  to  cry  out  under  the  greatness  of  their  alarm  and  ter- 
ror. And  by  what  I  have  heard,"  continues  he,  "  I  conclude  it 
was  usual  for  many  that  heard  that  very  awakening  and  rousing 
preacher  of  God's  word,  to  make  a  great  cry  in  the  congregation." 

A.  religious  attention,  thus  excited  in  great  bodies  of  people, 
cannot  be  safely  ascribed  to  any  cause  but  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  The  reasoning  used  by  Christ  himself,  in  answer 
to  those  who  blasphemously  ascribed  his  casting  out  devils  to 
Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils,  applies,  at  least,  if  not  with  equal 
force,  to  this  case.  He  said,  "  if  Satan  cast  out  Satan,  he  is 
divided  against  himself ;  and  how  can  his  kingdom  stand  ?"  I 
do  not  say  that  when  a  village,  a  town,  a  city,  or  a  distri  ct  of 
people  are  religiously  affected,  that  Satan  is  cast  out  ;  but  I  say 
that  his  influence  is  weakened,  and  his  kingdom  totters.  It  pre- 
sents an  immediate  check,  as  far  as  it  extends,  to  the  exuberance 
of  vice,  to  the  enormity  of  visible  wickedness.  In  all  the  sta- 
ges of  its  progress   and   operation,  it   holds   a  favourable  aspect 


135 

towards  deep  and  permanent  reformation.  Experience  will 
warrant  the  assertion,  that  in  these  general  awakenings,  by  far 
the  greater  number  of  those  who  come  forward  in  a  public  pro- 
fession of  religion,  are  found  afterwards  to  adorn  that  profession, 
and  to  give  evidence  of  its  truth  and  sincerity.  It  is  also  known 
to  be  a  fact,  that  the  greater  part  of  those  who  are  the  subjects  of 
the  awakening,  are  found  eventually  to  give  evidence  of  a  real 
conversion  to  God. 

Even  those  who  admit  regeneration  to  be  a  progressive  work, 
and  believe  that  the  agency  of  the  sinner  is  more  or  less  con- 
cerned in  it ; — in  whatever  way  men  are  turned  from  sin  to  ho- 
liness, and  from  the  service  of  Satan  to  the  service  of  God  ; 
every  one  who  wishes  to  see  the  great  work  brought  about  in 
some  manner  or  other,  cannot  but  be  glad  to  see  a  general  at- 
tention to  religious  concerns.  For  if  it  does  not  take  that  form 
with  which  they  are  most  pleased,  it  takes  some  form,  and  can- 
not but  result  in  raising  the  standard  of  public  morals,  and  in 
checking  the  torrent  of  vice  which  threatens  to  bear  all  before 
it,  and  which,  in  great  cities,  becomes  rapid  and  resistless  as  a 
flood. 

A  reformation  extending  to  every  house  in  this  city,  would 
be  the  noblest  sight  the  lover  of  humanity  ever  saw.  Its  indica- 
tions would  be  strong  and  decisive.  The  reign  of  vice,  which 
now  regards  no  limit,  but  throws  its  malign  influence  within 
every  enclosure,  would  on  all  sides  be  curtailed.  The  horrid 
clang  of  profaneness,  the  bloated  features  of  dissipation,  the 
haggard  spectacle  of  prostitution,  the  inanity  of  vicious  idleness, 
the  menace  of  unbridled  passion,  deliberate  revenge,  curtained 
behind  human  features,  and  heard  remote,  sometimes  like 
thunders  in  the  bosom  of  darkness  ; — in  fine,  the  conflicts  of 
interest,  the  wiles  of  dishonesty,  the  deep-laid  snares  of  covet- 
ousness,  which  now,  at  every  step,  arrest  your  attention,  if  not 
endanger  your  repose,  would  suddenly  disappear. 

What  if  there  were  even  a  temporary  suspension  of  business, 
a  circumstance  I  have  known  to  attend  the  progress  of  such  a 
work  ?  Would  that  be  any  evidence  against  it  ?  Is  this  world  of 
darkness  and  sin  so  vastly  important  that  nothing  for  a  mo- 
ment must   ever  interrupt  man's  complete   and  universal    servi' 


136 

tude  to  its  toils  and  cares,  till  he  plunges  into  eternity  ?  Must  a 
man  be  the  subject  of  sarcasm  and  contempt,  because  in  the 
first  hours  of  his  solicitude  to  secure  eternal  felicity,  in  the  first 
days  of  his  espousal  to  the  adorable  Kedeemer,  he  has  neglect- 
ed worldly  pursuits  ?  Alas  !  those  that  bring  this  objection,  I 
fear,  have  never  been  informed  that  "  the  love  of  money  is  the 
root  of  all  evil  ;"  have  never  considered,  that  "  it  is  easier  for  a 
camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a  rich  man 
to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Christians  belong  to  a 
kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world  ;  and  shall  they  not  some- 
times make  every  thing  give  way  to  the  interests,  pleasures,  and 
joys  of  that  kingdom  ?  Especially,  whilst  their  interests  in  it  are 
apparently  insecure  ;  whilst  they  are  solicitously  and  painfully 
endeavouring  to  obtain  "  a  name  and  a  place"  in  that  kingdom, 
shall  they  not  consider  this  world's  wealth  and  enjoyments  as 
"  lees,  and  dung,  and  dross  ?" 

When  were  the  people  of  this  city  known  to  relax  their  at- 
tention to  business,  under  the  powerful  sway  of  religious  im- 
pulse ?  Does  devotion  to  God,  and  the  solemn  acts  of  worship, 
infringe  on  the  days  of  the  week ;  or  do  the  schemes  of  amass- 
ing wealth,  the  delirium  of  incessant  business,  still  fever  their 
souls  on  the  Sabbath,  distract  their  attention,  and  palsy  their  de- 
votions in  the  house  of  God,  and  surcharge  their  conversation 
in  the  intervals  of  worship  ?  Nor  yet  does  it  all  avail  them :  for 
in  this  perpetual  and  endless  whirl  of  business,  they  resemble 
the  conflict  of  thousands  endeavouring  to  gain  a  slippery  sum- 
mit, where  there  is  not  room  for  hundreds  to  stand.  When  half 
way  up  the  hill,  they  suddenly  slide  into  the  vale  of  poverty,  and 
from  thence  sink  to  the  grave. 

The  King  of  heaven  himself  is  the  dispenser  of  all  the  bless- 
ings of  this  life,  as  well  as  the  life  to  come.  He  has  said,  "  Be 
not  anxious  for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall 
drink,  or  wherewithal  ye  shall  be  clothed  ;  but  seek  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  the  righteousness  thereof,  and  all  these 
things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  Accordingly,  it  has  been  ac- 
tually and  repeatedly  observed,  that  those  towns  and  villages 
who,  seemingly,  neglect  their  business,  in  times  of  religious 
awakening,   have   been  favoured   with   abundance    and  peculiar 


137 

prosperity  in  those  seasons.     There   is,   indeed,  the  promise   oi 
God  to  this  effect;  and  I  assert  what   is  known  to  many. 

While  I  figure  to  myself  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  city,  de- 
voutly and  earnestly  attending  to  the  most  important  of  all  con- 
cerns, I  cannot  but  consider  in  what  a  variety  of  respects  this 
would  be,  by  far,  the  happiest  city  on  the  globe.  The  great 
and  sudden  diminution  of  the  number  of  the  miserable  victims 
of  vice — of  criminals  which  throng  our  courts,  and  crowd  owr 
prisons — of  invalids  which  fill  our  hospitals — of  paupers  in  our 
alms-houses  and  aslyums — of  helpless  age,  without  provision — 
and  infancy,  without  protection — of  beggars  patrolling  the  streets, 
whose  story  is,  generally,  but  a  veil  to  their  faults  ;  but,  most 
of  all,  of  that  numerous  banditti  of  thieves,  robbers,  swindlers, 
pilferers,  incendiaries,  burglars,  and  ruffians,  whose  conceal- 
ment from  the  public  eye  alone  prevents  a  general  alarm. 

The  immense  accumulation  of  human  masses  of  the  above 
description,  in  great  cities,  and  which  make  incessant  demands 
on  the  justice  and  vigilance,  as  well  as  the  charity  and  liberali- 
ty of  society,  become,  at  length,  like  a  putrid  diathesis  in  tl^e 
human  body  ;  or,  to  say  the  least,  the  perpetual  recurrence  of 
these  loathsome  objects  is  one  of  the  pests  and  torments  of  great 
cities.  Yet  the  immortal  souls  of  all  these  miserable  people 
are  of  immense  value ;  the  reformation  that  should  reach  and 
recover  them,  would  plant  new  stars  in  the  firmament  of  glory. 
And  how  delightful  the  thought,  that  the  light  of  truth  should 
dispel  the  gloom  from  these  dungeons,  and,  through  such  wide 
departments  of  pain  and  horror,  should  pour  the  healing  balm 
of  salvation. 

Far  above  these  Augean  stables  of  sin  and  pain,  and  which 
no  Herculean  labour  could  cleanse,  there  is  another  department 
of  vice  in  this  city,  but  connected  with  the  former  by  innume- 
rable doors  and  headlong  steps.  This  rejrion  appears  brilliant 
and  fair  ;  its  precincts  resound  with  hilarity,  feast,  and  soBg, 
and  it  contains  thousands  of  the  opulent,  the  fashionable, 
the  young,  and  the  gay.  Vice  is  clad  in  splendour,  and  a  spirit 
reigns  here  which  knows  no  moral  law  but  inclination,  and  re- 
cognises no  god  but  pleasure.  But  one  use  is  made  here  of 
Jehovah's  awful  name,  and  that  is  to  give  bravery  and  relish  to 
12* 


138 

,  the  idle  clamours  of  folly — to  embellish  the  fulminations  of  wit 
and  mirth,  and  to  give  force  and  grandeur  to  the  language  of 
passion,  rage,  and  falsehood.  Is  this  the  abode  of  happiness  ? 
Its  chief  characteristics  are  restless  pride  without  gratification — 
ostentation  without  motive  or  reward — professions  without  sin- 
cerity— ceremony  without  comfort — laughter  without  joy — 
smiles  which  conceal  rancour — approbation  alloyed  with  envy, 
and  vociferous  praises  dying  away  into  the  whispers  of  ca- 
lumny. 

•'  Tumultuous  grandeur  crowds  the  blazing  square, 
The  rattling  chariots  clash,  the  torches  glare." 

What  changes  a  work  of  God's  spirit  would  cause  in  this 
numerous  class  ;  and,  0  !  how  greatly  to  be  desired,  even  for 
the  purposes  of  present  happiness  !  But  do  you  think  that  these 
gay  people,  on  whose  countenances  often  dwells  the  smile  of 
peace — whose  every  step  appears  light  and  airy  as  the  radiant 
footstep  of  Aurora — whose  very  form  and  features  are  luminous 
with  contentment  and  hope;  do  you  imagme  they  live  other- 
wise than  in  a  continual  round  of  unmingled  enjoyment  ?  How 
false  is  the  estimate  made  of  human  happiness  !  These  people 
are  as  mistaken  in  their  pursuit  of  pleasure  as  others  are  in 
judging  of  their  felicities  from  their  exterior. 

They  are  strangers  to  happiness  ;  and  I  am  in  no  fear  of  contra- 
diction. No,  the  immortal  mind  is  not  thus  made.  The  glitter  of 
dress — the  splendour  of  apartments — the  loftiness  of  houses — the 
beauty  of  equipage,  have  all  the  potency  of  their  charms  from  the 
supposed  admiration  they  excite  in  the  eyes  of  spectators  ;  and 
even  here  their  vain  possessors  are  grossly  mistaken  ;  for  more 
than  half  that  admiration  is  the  most  unlovely  envy.  The  bril- 
liance of  all  these  things  strikes  the  eye,  but  carries  no  pleasure 
to  the  heart  ;  the  immortal  spirit  within  well  knows  they  are 
but  dust  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  these  baubles,  indignantly  retires 
within  itself,  and  refuses  to  be  consoled  with  a  portion  no  bet- 
ter than  what  falls  to  the  fowls  of  heaven,  and  the  beasts  of  the 
earth. 


139 

Religion  is  man's  greatest  good  ;  it  pays  the  most  respect  to 
his  most  important  interests  ;  brings  the  soul  to  the  knowledge 
and  possession  of  her  proper  enjoyments,  and  points  her  up- 
ward to  her  eternal  inheritance.  Without  religion,  the  wealth  of 
Croesus  cannot  save  a  man  from  the  deepest  poverty ;  with  it,  the 
beggar  Laznrus  possesses  boundless  wealth,  and  shall  be  eternally 
blessed. 

With  this  idea,  the  object  before  me  becomes  important,  in  no 
ordinary  degree  ;  and  as  I  see  crowds  passing  by  my  window, 
of  all  ages  and  conditions  ;  their  high  destiny  and  immortal  pow- 
ers, of  which  they  appear  to  be  scarcely  conscious,  rises  upon 
me  in  solemn  prospect:  I  cannot  but  reflect  where  these  persons, 
and  all  tlie  mulitude  that  I  see  move  about  these  streets,  will  be 
after  the  mighty  lapse  of  ten  thousand  ages.  Stupidity  may 
laugh,  and  infidelity  sneer,  at  such  a  suggestion,  but  a  heathen 
monarch  wept  at  the  thought  that  all  his  army,  the  greatest  ever 
assembled,  would  die  in  a  hundred  years.*  And  a  greater  than 
a  heathen  monarch  wept  over  a  city,  doubdess  less  guilty  before 
God  than  this.  Yes,  after  the  full  period  of  ten  thousand  ages 
has  rolled  away,  not  a  soul  now  in  this  city  shall  be  eilinct,  or, 
shall  fail  to  make  one  of  the  number  destined  to  eternal  ages  of 
liappiness  or  misery. 

I  cannot  but  reflect  how  important  these  days  are  to  the  thou- 
sands I  see  about  me,  perfectly  unconscious  of  their  value,  be- 
cause thoughtless  of  the  great  purposes  to  be  answered  by 
them,  and  of  the  great  work  to  be  done  in  them.  As  it  is  with 
the  whole  of  life  itself,  so  it  is  with  the  business  of  every  day  ; 
they  have  an  ulterior  relation  to  our  eternal  state.  1  am  fully 
aware  that  the  effusions  of  the  holy  spirit  are  not  at  the  option 
of  men  :  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  man  to  cause  a  reformation  in 
this  city.  But  when  I  consider  the  boundless  fulness  of  gos- 
pel provision,  the  explicit  and  earnest  invitations  of  the  gospel : 
when  I  know  that  God  is  long  suffering,  "  not  willing  that  any 
should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance  :"  when  I 
consider  how  this  city  has  been  distinguished  by  great  and  spe- 
cial blessings    of  providence ;  shielded    in    war,    delivered   from 

*  Xerxes  the  Great. 


140 

pestilence,  prospered  in  peace,  and  rising  to  greatness,  I  cannot 
but  advert  to  the  stupidity  and  wickedness,  which  were  never 
more  visible  and  triumphant  than  at  the  present  time,  with  alarm 
and  foreboding.  And  let  it  be  called  prophesying,  or  by  any 
other  opprobrious  name,  God  will  not  suffer  such  blessings  to 
be  answered  by  such  ingratitude  with  long  impunity.  There  wiU 
be  changes,  and  the  sword  of  divine  displeasure  is,  1  fear,  already 
drawn  ;  in  what  way  it  will  strike,  or  how  it  will  fall,  infinite  wis- 
dom only  knows. 

Be  it  that  God's  own  work  is  in  his  own  hands,  and  that  he 
will  carry  it  on  when  and  where  he  pleases  :  Christians  ought  to 
know  that  God  works  by  means,  otherwise  of  what  use  is  a 
gospel  ministry  ?  The  almighty  and  ever  blessed  God  has  pro- 
mised to  give  his  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him.  But  let  any 
one,  to  whom  a  thought  so  improbable  as  a  general  reformation 
in  this  city,  may  occur,  who  may  feel  a  desire  for  the  salvation 
of  this  great  people  ;  let  him  look  round  him  and  ask,  why  it  is 
that  sinners  are  surrounded  as  with  a  wall  so  adamantine,  so  im- 
penetrable, so  impervious  to  conviction  ?  Why  are  the  impedi- 
ments so  numerous  1  Why  is  it  so  awfully  improbable  that  we 
shall  see  a  general  reformation  here  ?  Why  does  it  appear  so 
discouraging,  so  hopeless,  so  morally  impossible,  as  almost  to 
paralize  the  conception  of  desire,  or  the  secret  wrestlings  and 
agonizings  of  prayer?  There  surely  is  a  cause,  nor  is  that 
cause  invisible  in  its  operation.  Religion  is  everywhere  the 
same.  There  is  "  balm  in  Gilead,  and  a  physician  there."  God 
is  no  more  hostile  to  cities  than  to  villages  :  his  spirit  is  as  free, 
and  his  offers  of  salvation  as  full,  to  the  people  of  a  crowded 
city  as  of  the  open  country.  Nor  are  the  people  in  cities 
more  averse  to  religion  than  in  the  country. 

Human  nature  is,  indeed,  much  the  same  in  all  places  ;  but  if 
there  is  any  difference,  the  people  of  large  cities  have  more 
sensibility,  are  certainly  more  alive  to  the  finer  feelings,  and  to 
the  impulse  of  public  sensations,  and  are  more  quick  and  sus- 
ceptible to  sentimental  impressions.  They  are  naturally  no 
more  wicked,  no  more  inaccessible  to  conviction,  no  more  ar- 
dent in  worldly  pursuits,  no   more  insensible  to    the    solemn 


141 

themes  of  evangelical  truth,  or  to  the  condition  and  prospects 
of  the  soul,  than  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  at  large. 

The  difference  which  sinks  the  scale  of  the  city  to  a  depth 
so  hopeless,  in  this  comparison,  is  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to 
a  difference  in  the  means  used  to  promote  religion  ;  in  short,  to 
a  difference  in  what  is  denominated  the  means  of  grace. 

If  the  reader  will  recur  to  the  first  numbers  of  the  Triangle, 
first  series,  he  will  there  find  stated  the  cause  to  which  I  here 
allude.  The  strain  of  doctrine  there  described,  and  which  has, 
in  a  measure,  formed  the  current  of  opinion  and  tone  of  feeling 
in  a  very  great  body  of  people  in  this  city,  sufiice  it  to  say,  has 
not  been  attended  with  many  indications  of  reformation,  and 
has,  to  all. appearance,  presented  no  barrier  to  the  overwhelm- 
ing flood  of  vice  which  threatens  the  city. 

It  will  be  easy  to  contradict  this  assertion,  but  not  easy  to  show 
that  it  is  not  true  :  "  cum  res  ipsa  loquitur :"  and  I  shall  dismiss 
this  subject  with  expressing  my  firm  belief,  that  these  doctrines 
continuing  to  be  disseminated,  enforced,  and  maintained  in  the 
manner  and  form  they  have  been,  for  years  past,  there  will  be 
no  reformation.  I  have  no  expectation  that  God  will  honour 
them  with  that  mark  of  his  approbation  ;  and  as  for  the  merit 
they  claim,  in  point  of  moral  suasion,  or  the  prospect  of  any 
effect  they  will  produce  in  that  way,  I  should  expect  as  much 
effect  from  the  Arabian  proverbs  delivered  in  their  native  tongue. 
They  are  not  the  doctrines  of  the  frequent  and  great  reforma- 
tions which  have  been  in  our  days,  and  in  our  country.  They 
are  not  "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit." 

The  more  these  doctrines  prevail  and  gain  credit,  the  more 
men  are  contracted  by  selfishness,  which  always  brings  intole- 
rance in  its  train  :  the  more  noise  is  made  about  depravity,  and 
the  greater  the  ostentation  of  setting  human  nature  low,  the 
more  is  the  hearer  and  the  convert  flattered  in  his  pride  and 
quieted  in  his  conscience,  and  made  to  sleep,  by  a  potent  anti- 
dote, against  even  the  thunders  of  truth  :  the  more  that  is  made 
of  faith,  the  less  of  personal  holiness,  and  that  true  moral  ex- 
cellence, which  gives  religion  its  beauty  and  heaven  its  felicity. 
So  that,  in  leading  the  sinner  to  contemplate  his  own  depravity, 
they   furnish   hira    with  excuses   instead  of  overwhelming    him 


142 

with  conviction ;  and  in  leading  the  Christian  to  consider  the 
gracious  promise  of  God,  they  puff  him  up  with  pride,  and  em- 
bolden him  audaciously  to  demand  salvation,  and  exhort  him  to 

"  keep  Christ  to  liis  word." 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  V. 


Among  all  the  words  which  give  offence  to  the  advocates  of 
the  triangular  scheme,  the  term  Metaphysics  stands  foremost. 
They  abhor  it  even  more  than  they  do  morality,  virtue,  or 
even  disinterestedness.  This  prejudice  against  some,  and  so 
many  of  the  best  words  in  our  language,  is  not  a  mark  in  their 
favour :  and  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  their  antipa- 
thy does  not  stop  at  the  word  itself,  but  goes  far  beyond,  and 
aims  at  the  very  things  these  words  are  used  for. 

Concerning  these  offensive  words  I  have  said  something  in 
former  numbers  ;  but  as  somewhere  on  this  ground,  they  have 
erected  one  of  their  strongest  fortresses,  from  which  they  keep 
up  a  perpetual  and  running  fire  of  random  shot,  I  shall  sit  down 
before  it  in  this  number  :  nor  do  I  expect  to  find  it  as  impreg- 
nable as  the  den  of  Cacus.  About  the  word  disinterested,  I 
think  I  have  already  discharged  my  duty.  It  is  a  term,  and 
conveys  an  idea,  well  understood,  in  all  our  best  writers.  Ad- 
dison and  Johnson  use  it  frequently  in  the  same  sense  we  use 
it.  A  man  sees  two  men  in  a  quarrel,  and  fiercely  contending. 
He  steps  in  between  them,  and  says,  "  Gentlemen,  I  have  no 
interest  in  the  result  of  this  contention  ;  I  am  well  disposed  to- 
wards you  both.  Permit  me,  then,  to  act  as  a  mediator  be- 
tween you."  This  man  will  be  likely  to  have  influence  with 
both  these  men,  because  they  perceive  that  he  is  entirely  disin- 
terested. 

I  therefore  said  that  no  word  in  our  language  was  better  un- 
derstood, or  more  immoveably   fixed   in  its  true  import.     I  have 


143 

not  seen  a  more  handsome  illustration  of  this  word  than  I  lately- 
read  in  Cox's  life  of  Melancthon,  where  he  sums  up  and  finishes 
the  character  of  that  great  man  by  observing,  that  he  generally 
acted  under  the  influence  of  a  purely  "  disinterested  benevo- 
lence." But  some  of  our  great  divines  would  tell  Cox  a  dif- 
ferent story.  Those  men,  who  have  eaten  freely  of  the  Amor 
sui,  pretend  that  it  is  either  a  phrase  of  false  import,  or  else  of 
no  import  at  all. 

The  word  morality  has  not  fared  better.  They  have  con- 
demned all  its  family  :  for  moral,  moral  agency,  moral  fitness, 
moral  depravity,  and  the  like,  are  all  considered  as  Amalekites, 
and  proscribed.  Especially  the  phrase  moral  virtue^  made  up 
of  two  most  offensive  words,  they  regard  as  bad  as  the  union 
of  Herod  and  Pilate.  The  word  ?noral  we  derive  from  the 
Latin  moralis,  which  is  from  7nos^  a  law  or  custom.  Morahtv 
is  conformity  to  law,  and  used  in  this  sense.  But  has  the  Chris- 
tian no  morality  ?  Alas  !  some  professing  Christians  have  not 
much.  But  what  did  Christ  say !  "  Think  not  that  I  come  to 
destroy  the  law,"  &c.  He  goes  on  to  show,  that  he  insisted 
on  a  purer  mortality  than  even  the  Pharisees,  who  make  clean 
the  outside  of  the  cup  and  platter,  but  what  is  within  ? — Extor- 
tion and  excess.  The  great  command  of  the  law  is  love  :  and 
says  the  eloquent  Dr.  South,*  "  Love  is  not  so  much  an  afTec- 
tiou  of  the  Christian,  as  it  is  the  very  soul  of  the  Christian  ;  he 
does  not  so  much  feel  it,  as  he  is  in  it." 

Moral  virtue  is  a  conformity  to  the  divine  law,  or  in  other 
words  conformity  to  God.  For  as  God  is  love,  he  that  dwell- 
eth  in  love  dwelleth  in  God  and  God  in  him.  Perfect  morality, 
therefore  is  perfect  love  to  God,  by  which  I  understand  perfect 
moral  virtue.  This  is  also  sometimes  called  charity;  and  as 
much  as  St.  Paul  insisted  on  faith,  he  had  no  diminutive  opi- 
nion of  it."  "  Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three,  but 
the  greatest  of  these  is  charity." 

But  the  principal  object  of  this  number  is  Metaphysics,  a 
terra,  against  which  an  odium  has  been  excited,  and  by  means 
of  which  incalculable  mischief  has   been  done.     Before  I  enter 

*  "  An  old  divine." 


144 

on  this  subject,  I  cannot  but  remark,  that  I  consider  this  as  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  controversies  ever  carried  on ;  not 
so  much  from  its  nature  as  from  its  means  and  methods.  An 
attempt  to  carry  measures  by  exciting  strong  prejudices  against 
words,  at  the  same  time  exaggerating  and  misrepresenting  the 
notions  pretended  to  be  affixed  to  those  words,  and  keeping 
the  grand  points  of  difference  wholly  out  of  sight :  this  course 
persisted  in  for  years,  and  pursued  with  boldness  and  abundant 
success  :  I  say  these  circumstances  render  this  controversy, 
perhaps,  without  a  parallel. 

The  same  things,  however,  which  render  this  a  singular  con- 
troversy, render  ii  not  a  hopeless  controversy :  for  while  I  am 
perfectly  assured  that  it  results  from  misinformation,  in  very 
great  numbers,  I  am  assured,  with  a  certainty  nearly  equal,  that 
they  want  nothing  but  a  right  understanding  of  the  case  to  come 
into,  and  adopt  the  truth.  Whatever  pride  of  character  may  do 
■with  a  few  men,  with  whom  it  may  far  outweigh  the  solemn  dic- 
tates of  conscience,  the  great  body  of  the  people  have  no  motive, 
I  might  almost  say,  no  selfish  motive  for  preferring  error  to 
truth.  And  I  am  well  assured  that,  at  least,  some  may  be  con- 
vinced that  their  credulity  has  been  imposed  upon,  and  that 
they  have  been  deceived.  They  may  be  convinced  that  error 
has  held  an  ascendency  over  truth,  not  by  argument,  but  by 
efforts  of  influence  from  men  riding  on  the  shoulders  of  public 
confidence. 

The  case  now  to  be  mentioned  is  one  of  a  most  extraordina- 
ry nature.  I  appeal  to  the  people  of  this  city  at  large,  that 
they  have  been  led  into  the  habit  of  believing  that  metaphysics 
have  no  connexion  with  religion  : — that  every  thing  metaphy- 
sical is  improper  and  unbecoming  the  pulpit,  or  a  gospel  ser- 
mon :  and  that  the  Hopkinsians  have  little  else  but  metaphysics 
in  their  sermons.  They  are  very  different  from  the  good  old 
woman  I  once  heard  of,  who,  hearing  her  minister,  in  whom 
she  had  great  confidence,  say  something  about  metaphysics,  re- 
plied, "  0  yes,  I  know  that  Christ  is  both  meat  and  physic  for 
the  poor  sinner."  They  do  not,  however,  think  quite  so  well 
about  metaphysics,  as  to  think  it  is  both  meat  and  physic  for 


145 

the  sinner,  although  quite  as  much   mistaken  with  regard  to  what 
metaphysics  are. 

1.  "  Metaphysics,  or  ontology,"  says  Johnson,  "  is  the  science 
which  treats  of  the  affections  of  being  in  general."  In  strict- 
ness, the  whole  of  truth  may  be  said  to  be  divided  into  physi- 
cal and  metaphysical  ;  and  to  say  the  least,  many  of  the  doc- 
trines of  religion  come  properly  and  strictly  within  the  depart- 
ment of  metaphysics.  The  term  affection,  as  used  in  the 
above  definition,  is  taken  in  its  larger  sense,  and  in  relation 
both  to  action  and  passion.  "  By  the  affections  of  being,"  says 
Dr.  Watts,  "  are  meant  all  powers,  properties,  accidents,  rela- 
tions, actions,  passions,  dispositions,  internal  qualities,  external 
adjuncts,  considerations,  conditions,  or  circumstances  whatsoever." 
(See  vol.  5.  p.  639.) 

As  it  is  one  object  of  this  number  to  do  away  the  prejudice 
and  opposition  in  many  minds  against  metaphysics,  by  show- 
ing to  those  who  have  not  the  advantage  of  general  reading 
what  metaphysics  truly  are  ;  and,  as  I  have  this  moment  before 
me  the  Belgic  Encyclopedia,  published  in  the  year  1620,  and 
dedicated  to  the  lords  of  the  Belgic  League,  and  also  Dr. 
Watts'  System  of  Metaphysics,  I  think  it  will  be  useful  to  lay 
before  the  reader  a  compendious  view  of  the  subjects  of  which 
that  science  treats.  If  the  reader  will  keep  in  mind  that  it  is  not 
Edwards  nor  Hopkins,  and  if  he  has  not  regularly  studied  meta- 
physics, I  presume  he  will  not  think  his  labour  lost  in  perusing 
this  sketch. 

Metaphysics,  or  ontology,  treats  of  being,  of  essence,  or  nature 
of  mode  and  form;  of  existence,  whether  actual  or  possible 
necessary  or  contingent,  dependent  or  independent,  whence  ari- 
ses the  distinction  between  the  being  of  God  and  of  his  creatures. 
In  the  next  place,  it  considers  duration,  creation,  and  preser- 
vation ;  and,  reader,  is  all  this  chaff  and  nonsense  ?  It  then 
considers  unity  and  union  ;  but  what  doctrines  are  involved 
here  ?  It  treats  of  act  and  power,  of  action  and  passiveness, 
of  necessity  and  liberty,  and  of  relative  affections  ;  but  is  dlj 
this  nothing  ?  This,  reader,  was  the  ground  which  the  immor- 
tal Edwards  cleared  of  as  many  dangerous  errors,  as  Hercules 
did  the  wilderness  of  monsters.  It  treats  of  truth,  goodness 
13 


146 

and  perfection ;  principles,  causes,  and  effects  ;  of  subject  and 
adjunct  ;  of  time,  place,  and  ubiquity ;  of  sameness,  agreement, 
and  difference  ;  of  number  and  order  ;  of  mental  relations  ;  of 
abstract  notions,  signs,  words,  and  terms  of  art,  &c.  ;  of  the  chief 
kinds  and  divisions  of  being,  as  substance  and  mode,  &c. ;  of 
natural,  moral,  and  artificial  beings  and  ideas. 

Metaphysics  is  the  science  of  being,  and  there  is  not  a  doc- 
trine of  religion  which  relates  to  beings  which  is  not,  more  or 
less,  metaphysical.  Man  is  a  creature,  finite,  dependent,  muia 
ble,  and  ignorant ;  God  is  the  creator,  infinite,  independent,  im- 
mutable, and  infinitely  wise.  Now,  in  all  these,  and  in  all 
other  affections  and  relations,  just  and  correct  metaphysical  no- 
tions are  essentially  important  to  a  proper  understanding  of 
truth.  An  idea,  or  notion,  or  proposition,  or  argument,  is  called 
metaphysical,  not  from  any  abstruseness  or  obscurity  belonging 
to  it,  but  from  its  natural  arrangement  \^ith  a  great  class  or  order 
of  truths. 

Nor  has  it  been  a  little  conducive  to  the  progress  and  state  of 
knowledge  in  modern  times,  that  classification,  or,  as  it  may  be 
called,  generalization,  has  made  such  advances  ;  and  it  was  thj? 
that  suggested  to  the  great  Leibnitz  the  idea,  that  a  universal  lan- 
guage was  attainable,  and  would  one  day  be  discovered. 

Having  given  a  general  outline  of  the  proper  subjects  of  meta- 
physics, I  have,  under  this  particular,  only  to  observe,  that  the 
want  of  correct  views  of  metaphysical  subjects  is  one  source 
of  the  wretched  darkness  in  that  theological  system  which  I 
have  styled  triangular.  As  I  have  said  in  former  numbers,  the 
divines  advocating  that  system  are  essentially  wanting  in  their 
knowledge  of  the  powers,  affections,  and  relations  of  rational 
beings.  And,  if  we  can  admit  their  honesty  and  integrity,  we 
have  only  to  conclude  that  their  contemptuous  slangs  at  meta- 
physics, and  the  still  more  wretched  work  they  make  when  they 
exhibit  a  specimen  of  their  own  metaphysics,  must  arise  from 
their  profound  ignorance  of  that  most  important  science. 

2.  The  infinitely  wise  and  holy  spirit  of  inspiration,  by  whom 
the  sacred  scriptures  were  dictated  and  inspired,  having  furnish- 
ed the  proper  means,  has  left  man  to  the  use  of  his  own  facul- 
ties in  his  discovery  of  natural  knowledge;    deeming  it  alto- 


147 

gether  unimportant  to  arrange  and  classify,  to  distinguish  and 
name,  the  different  departments  of  science,  as  mathematics,  as- 
tronomy, metaphysics.  Yet  the  science  of  metaphysics,  at 
lenst,  above  all  others,  is  abundantly  grounded  on  the  scrip- 
tures. The  grand  and  leading  truths  on  which  that  science  rests, 
are  not  the  mere  assertions  of  Edwards,  or  Locke,  or  Mal- 
branche,  or  Stewart,  or  Bacon ;  they  are  laid  down  in  the  word 
of  God,  either  by  facts  or  inductions. 

"  Metaphysics,  or  ontology,  is  the  science  of  being,  regarding 
it  in  reference  to  all  its  powers,  properties,  accidents,  relations, 
actions,  passions,  dispositions,  qualities,  conditions,  and  cir- 
cumstances." Beings,  are  God  and  his  creatures.  Now,  I 
hope  that  our  learned  adversaries  will  be  willing  to  admit  that 
the  Bible  teaches  something  concerning  God  and  his  creatures  ; 
and,  beginning  with  the  first  of  all  propositions,  that  being  exists, 
which,  I  think,  the  Bible  proves,  there  is  not  a  power,  property 
or  accident,  a  relation,  action,  passion,  a  disposition,  considera- 
tion, or  condition  of  any  being,  which  does  not  afford  an  article 
of  metaphysical  truth  and  knowledge. 

Reserving  the  consideration  of  this  subject  to  a  future  occa- 
sion, when  I  can  bestow  on  it  that  time  and  attention  which  are 
due  to  its  vast  importance,  I  shall  here  only  observe,  that  a 
great  part  of  the  truths  laid  down  in  the  scriptures,  are  meta- 
physical truths ;  and  the  grandest  arguments  there  found,  come 
under  the  science  of  ontology .  I  instance  the  disputation  be- 
tween Job  and  his  three  friends  ;  the  arguments  and  expostula- 
tions of  Ezekiel ;  the  reasonings  of  St.  Paul,  and  even  of  Christ 
himself.  That  love  is  an  affection  of  rational  being,  is  a  meta- 
physical proposition  :  that  God  loves  his  kingdom,  and  that  per- 
fect moral  virtue  consists  in  the  love  of  being,  are  equally  so. 
That  men  are  under  obligation  to  love  God  supremely,  and 
their  neighbours  as  themselves,  are  propositions  purely  metaphy- 
sical. In  short,  the  grandest  of  all  propositions,  viz.,  that  God 
is  love,  is,  in  the  highest  sense,  a  purely  metaphysical  proposi- 
tion :  and  the  arguments  by  which  all  these  propositions  are 
maintained,  and,  in  fact,  all  abstract  terms  and  ideas,  belong  to 
the   same    class  or  order. 

That  I  may  not  be  misunderstood,    and   to  save  the  objector 


148 

a  little  breath,  let  me  further  obseive,  I  am  fully  aware  of  the 
difference  between  the  consideration  of  the  affections  of  being 
regarded  abstractly  and  in  themselves,  or  in  their  concrete  form 
when  considered  in  conduct  and  character.  In  this  latter  state, 
they  give  rise  to  minor  distinctions.  Thus  says  Dr.  Watts, 
"  when  they  relate  to  kings,  subjects,  laws,  rebellions,  allegi- 
ance, treason,  (fee,  they  are  called  political;  when  they  relate 
to  God,  holiness,  Christianity,  repentance,  gospel,  and  salvation, 
they  are  denominated  theological ;"  but  they  still  belong  to  the 
far  more  comprehensive  class,  metaphysical. 

A  discourse  or  discussion  on  the  affections  of  beings,  consi- 
dered abstractly,  in  which  their  nature,  principles,  operations, 
and  laws,  are  professedly  set  forth,  may  be  styled  a  discourse 
on  metaphysics,  or  ontology  ;  but  a  religious  essay,  or  sermon, 
or  body  of  divinity,  in  which  metaphysical  truths  and  reason- 
ings are  employed,  is,  nevertheless,  denominated  theology. 
But  what  havoc  a  theologian  will  m  ake,  who  has  no  correct 
knowledge  of  metaphysics,  daily  experience  shows  us  ;  and 
two  volumes  of  sermons,  lately  published  in  this  city,  would 
form  an  incomparable  book  of  reference  :  of  which  I  will  here- 
after give  some  specimens. 

3.  From  the  character  of  God,  the  nature  of  his  government ; 
from  the  character,  duty,  and  obligations  of  men  ;  from  the  com- 
mands, threatening^,  and  expostulations  of  scripture,  and  from 
similar  som-ces  found  in  sacred  writ,  may  be  deduced  the  opi- 
nions which  the  ablest  and  most  judicious  metaphysicians  have 
advanced  concerning  the  powers  and  faculties  of  the  soul.  Yet, 
as  I  said,  the  spirit  of  truth  did  not  instruct  men  how  to  name 
and  classify  them,  nor  with  what  other  sciences  to  give  them  a 
place.  But,  notwithstanding  these  advantages,  numerous  errors, 
and  some  of  them  the  most  dangerous  and  fatal,  have  ever  in- 
fested the  Christian  Church.  Some  of  these  errors  arose  during 
the  apostolic  age  :  they  have  been  varying  their  form  and  influ- 
ence, and  maintained  their  ground  through  the  German  refor- 
mation. 

To  them,  in  a  great  measure,  are  owing  much  of  the  myste- 
cism  and  absurdity,  conveyed  down  from  age  to  age,  about  ori- 
ginal sin,  which  term  Calvin  himself  acknowledges  is  not  in   the 


149 

scriptures,  but  was  invented  by  Augustine.  Some  have  denied 
the  spirituality  of  the  soul :  others  have  asserted  it  to  be  a  par- 
ticle or  emanation  of  the  Deity,  and,  of  course,  incapable  of 
moral  stain,  or  final  misery.  Some  have  denied  its  immortality 
altogether ;  and  others  have  supposed  it  to  sleep  in  the  grave 
with  the  body  till  the  resurrection.  Some  have  maintained,  that 
all  the  souls  of  the  human  race  were  made  at  once,  and  are  kept 
somewhere  till  bodies  are  ready  to  receive  them  :  and  others,  that 
the  souls  of  the  human  race  are  one  of  the  inferior  orders  of 
(Kons,  or  angels  that  fell,  who  are  thrown  into  a  state  of  forget- 
fulness,  and  sent  into  bodies  prepared  for  them,  in  order  to  a 
second  probation ;  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  much  of  human 
conduct  favours  that  idea. 

To  this  mass  of  opinions  concerning  the  soul,  may  be  added, 
that  some  think  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  freedom  or  moral 
agency  among  creatures  ;  that  they  are  all  like  so  many  ma- 
chines, or  automata,  moved  entirely  by  superior  agency. 
Others,  and  they  are  not  mucli  more  consistent,  believe,  that, 
since  the  fall,  men  are  free  to  do  wrong  and  not  to  do  right. 
But  Bible  metaphysics  teach,  that  sinful  creatures  are,  in  all  re- 
spects, as  free  as  holy  ones.  It  is  sufficient  to  render  an  action 
accountable,  to  know  that  it  was  voluntary.  A  holy  creature 
oves  to  do  right,  as  well  as  a  sinful  one  does  to  do  wrong. 
We  hear  none  of  this  metaphysical  jargon  before  courts  of  jus- 
tice, when  a  man  is  convicted  of  a  crime.  We  never  hear  it 
urged  that  he  did  it  because  he  was  not  a  moral  agent  to  do 
right. 

If  the  reader  will  turn  back  to  the  contrast  of  sentiment,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  third  number,  he  will  perceive  that 
the  true  origin  of  nearly  all  the  difference,  arises  from  false  me- 
taphysics. Nor  do  I  think,  that  even  the  notion  of  limited  atone- 
ment is  altogether  independent  of  that  prolific  source  of  error,  as 
I  shall  hereafter  show. 

Nothing  can  be  more  alarming,  nothing  more  ominous  to  the 
friends  of  truth,  or  more  hostile  to  the  great  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  than  the  efforts  of  many  to  banish  metaphysics  from 
theology,  and  render  them  disgusting.  Artful  and  designing 
men  know  the  efficacy  of  this  practice.  In  the  first  place,  they 
13* 


150 

*nfuse  into  the  minds  of  the  mass  of  people,  that  metaphysic.< 
are  sometimes  odious  and  foreign  to  religion :  that  any  thing 
metaphysical  is  not  preaching  Christ.  They  then  go  on  to  extend 
and  deepen  this  prejudice.  Any  thing  argumentative,  any  train 
of  close  reasoning,  however  demonstrative,  however  conducted 
in  the  strong  light  of  intuitive  evidence,  it  is  no  matter,  they  have 
but  one  sentence  to  pronounce,  they  can  refute  it  all  in  a  moment. 
They  need  only  say,  '•'  Ah  !  this  metaphysical  reasoning  is  not 
the  Gospel."  And  to  the  mind  duly  prepared  by  prejudice, 
and  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  metaphysics,  it  is  all  answered  and 
refuted.  There  are  books  now  in  this  city,  there  is  Edwards 
on  the  Will,  in  which  the  grounds  taken  are  as  demonstrably 
and  unanswerably  maintained  as  any  argument  found  in  Euclid  : 
and  many  of  these  anti- metaphysical  declaimers,  when  in  com- 
panies where  they  are  ashamed  to  say  otherwise,  w^ill  freely 
own  it :  yet  the  same  arguments  which  Edwards  uses,  when  used 
by  others,  these  same  men,  when  in  other  companies,  will  refute 
in  a  moment, — "  Ah  !  it  is  all  metaphysical  jargon  !  It  is  not 
preaching  Christ !"  Thus  they  have  found  out  a  way  in  which 
they  can  easily  confront  the  eloquence  of  Whitefield,  or  the  argu- 
ment of  Warburton.  They  have  only  to  say  to  their  infatuated 
admirers,  "  It  is  too  metaphysical ;  this  is  not  the  Gospel ;"  and 
the  work  is  done. 

But  the  worst  evil,  and  that  which  will  increase  it  in  a  geo- 
metrical ratio,  is  still  untouched.  This  abhorrence  and  pro- 
scription of  metaphysics,  is  spreading  into  a  much  wider  circle. 
Young  men,  educated  for  the  ministry,  are  carefully  imbued 
in  this  aqua  turbida,  and  they  will  soon  cast  up  mire  and  dirt 
enough,  in  their  sermons.  Instead  of  reading  Locke  and  Ed- 
wards, which,  either  with  or  without  teaching,  they  will  be 
made  to  abhor,  they  are  kept  for  months  or  years  poring  over 
rusty  folios  of  modern  Latin,  whose  very  style  might  either 
cause  or  cure  a  Tertian  ague  ;  and  which,  if  put  into  an  alem- 
bic, till  all  their  crude  notions  and  common  places  had  passed 
over,  would  come  out  a  moderate  duodecimo  of  excellent 
matter. 

From  these  lovely  folios,  they  must  next  trudge  through  the 
Herculean  labour  of  copying,  perhaps.  Dr.  "  Verbiage's"  vapid. 


151 

manuscript  lectures  on  moral  philosophy,  or  something  else,  a 
task  as  useful  as  to  set  them  to  see  how  many  times  a  day  they 
could  throw  the  same  stick  of  wood  out  of  the  third  story  win- 
dow ;  and,  at  any  rate,  it  keeps  them  as  clear  of  any  correct 
notions  of  metaphysics  :  whether  it  keeps  them  as  clear  of  er- 
ror, is  another  question.  When  these  young  men  come  before 
the  public,  you  will  soon  hear  about  "imputed  guilt" — natural 
inability — moral  agency  to  do  wrong — limited  atonement — 
permissive    decrees — faith  the  sum  of  religion,*  &c.  &c. 

4.  I  am  perfectly  aware  of  the  task  I  encounter  by  taking 
this  ground,  and  coming  out  in  such  plain  language  :  I  have 
counted  the  cost,  and  am  prepared  to  meet  the  consequences. 
I  have  been  long  a  spectator  on  this  ground,  and  have  marked, 
with  undescribable  emotions,  the  progress  of  this  whole  business  ; 
and  it  is  not  a  hasty  resolution  that  I  have  taken  to  lay  it  before 
the  public.  When  I  hear  one  with  an  easy,  nay,  careless  slang, 
explode  the  truths  of  God,  and  the  dictates  of  his  everlasting 
gospel  under  the  slur  of  metaphysics — when  I  hear  metaphy- 
sics themselves  branded  as  error  or  nonsense,  by  many  who 
are  grossly  ignorant  of  what  they  are,  and  by  others,  who,  if 
they  are  ignorant,  are  wilfully  and  criminally  so — when  I  know 
they  do  it  to  answer  a  purpose  so  fatal  in  its  nature  and  conse- 
quences, I  cannot  be  silent. 

But  there  is  one  point  of  view  in  which  this  subject  has  not 
been  brought  before  the  public,  and  with  which  I  shall  close 
this  number,  together  with  this  series.  These  professed  adver- 
saries of  metaphysics  resort  to  them  as  often  as  Edwards,  or 
Hopkins,  or  any  of  their  admirers  and  followers  do.  And,  per- 
haps, it  is  owing  to  the  wretched  work  they  make  with  them 
that  they  are  ashamed  of  the  term,  and  wish  to  whelm  it  under 
disgrace  and  darknesss.     I  shall  give  a  few  instances. 

The  public  knows  the  uproar  that  is  raised  against  the  Hop- 
kinsians,  for  holding  that  the  divine  agency  was  concerned  in 
the  origin  of  evil.  But  have  these  humble,  modest,  unassuming 
people,  no  ideas  about  that  point  ?  What  says  their  Standard  ? 
their  almost  inspired   assembly  of  divines,  in  their  catechism  ? — 

*  See  Romeyn's  Sermons,  vol.  1.  p.  69,  at  top. 


152 

their  assembly    of  divines,  on  whose  incomparable  skill  and  pro- 
fundity they  lay    such  stress  ?     "  The  decrees  of  God  are  his  eter- 
nal purpose^  whereby^  for  his  own   glory,    he  foreordains   whatso- 
ever comes  to  pass.'^^     And   the    apostle    Paul,    no  doubt,    bears 
them  out  in    this  declaration  ;  for  he  declares,  that  God  "  works 
all   things  after  the  counsels  of  his  own  will."     Now,  according 
to  the  assembly,  sin  was    foreordained,     for  it  has  surely  cofne  to 
pass.     "  O,  no,   that   is    metaphysics  !"     Any   reasonable    mind 
may  perceive,  that  nothing    can  destroy  the    connexion   between 
the  actions  of  a  creature,  and  the  agency  of  an   infinitely   wise 
and  powerful  Creator ,  who  made  him,  and    constituted   his  pow- 
ers and   faculties.  "  0,   no,  that   is  metaphysics  !"     Admit    that 
a  creature    acts  freely,  God  ordained  and  decreed  that  he  should 
act  freely,  and  his  acting  one  way  no  more  frustrates  the  decree 
than  his  acting  another.     "  O,  no,  that  is  metaphysics  !"     God's 
decree   no   more    impairs  the  accountableness   or    moral   quality 
of  a  sinful  than   a  holy    action.     "  O,  no,  that  is    metaphysics  !" 
The  scripture  declares  that    God    decreed  some  wicked  actions  ; 
and  if  so  why  not   all  1     "  O,  no,    that    is  metaphysics  !"     Sin 
was   either   decreed,  or  it   was    not  decreed.     "  O,   no,  that   is 
metaphysics  !"     If  it  was  decreed,   and  the  divine  agency  no- 
ways concerned  in   bringing  it   to  pass,  then  Paul  was  mistaken, 
for  God  does  not  w^ork  all  things   after  the  counsels  of  his  own 
will,  but,  on  the   contrary,  he  works   many  things  after  the  coun- 
sels of  some  other  being.     "  O,  no,  that  is  too  metaphysical !" 

But  let  us  see  how  they  talk  about  this  matter.  They  say, 
that  sin  was  merely  the  fruit  of  the  free  agency  of  a  creature. 
And,  so,  I  answer,  is  every  other  act  of  his,  when  his  will  is  not 
inclined  by  superior  power.  But  who  is  the  author  of  that  free- 
agency  ?  "  O,  that  is  metaphysics  again  !"  But  their  meta- 
physics will  fairly  make  out  that  neither  the  purposes,  nor  the 
agency  of  God,  is  at  all  concerned  with  the  free  actions  of  crea- 
tures, and  will  effectually  overturn  the  doctrine  of  decrees,  and 
establish,  not  Arminianism,  but  some  ism  far  beyond  it :  will 
not  only  destroy  all  true  metaphysics,  but  contradict  a  multitude 
of  passages  of  scripture. 

Some  have  set  up,  and  dwelt  upon  the  idea,  that  it  has  been 
better,  on   the   whole,  for  God's  kingdom,   that  sin  has  taken 


153 

place.  I  mention  this,  however,  not  as  any  distinguishing  sen- 
timent of  the  Hopkinsians,  but  merely  as  an  opinion  which 
some  of  them  have  advanced.  Against  this,  an  outcry  has  been 
made,  and  a  "  strange  horror"  excited,  because  it  is  metaphy- 
sical. And,  reader,  I  appeal  to  any  man's  understanding) 
whether  this  is  not  a  reasonable,  and  almost  a  self-evident,  sup- 
position. If  the  assembly  of  divines  are  correct,  and  if  God 
has  "  for  his  own  glory  foreordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass," 
which  is  as  metaphysical  a  proposition  as  ever  was  in  print, 
then  surely  he  foreordained  sin,  because  he  saw  it  would  be 
for  his  glory. 

And  what  have  been  the  consequences  of  the  existence  of 
sin  ■?  I  answer,  the  infinitely  glorious  work  of  redemption ;  the 
union  of  the  divine  and  human  natures ;  the  most  glorious  ma- 
nifestation of  God  to  his  moral  kingdom,  through  Jesus  Christ. 
This  is  metaphysical ;  but  is  it  therefore  incorrect  1 

Let  us  see  by  what  kind  of  metaphysics  this  is  refuted.  A 
great  Docter  comes  forward  and  asserts,  that  it  is  not  proper  to 
say  that  the  whole  plan  of  divine  administration  is  the  best  pos- 
sible ;  for  we  do  not  know  but  that  God  might  have  made  a  dif- 
erent  plan  equally  good,  or  perhaps  better.  If  God  is  good,  that 
goodness  would  lead  him  to  prefer  a  good  plan  to  a  bad  one  ;  and 
equally  so,  to  prefer  a  greater  to  a  smaller  degree  of  good  :  but  if 
his  goodness  be  equal  to  his  power,  and  both  are  infinite,  then  the 
same  goodness  which  would  lead  him  to  prefer  a  greater  to  a  less 
degree  of  good,  would  lead  him  to  prefer  the  greatest  possible 
degree  of  good  in  his  entire  plan.  As  to  alterations  or  differ- 
ences, we  are  compelled  to  believe  that  the  divine  scheme,  as 
it  is,  was  preferred  to  all  others,  for  such  reasons  as  infinite  wis- 
dom approved.  Our  ignorance  furnishes  no  more  objection  to 
saying  that  God's  plan  is  the  best  possible  than  it  is  to  our  say- 
ing that  it  is  a  good  plan.  To  say,  therefore,  that  it  would  have 
been  as  well  or  better  for  God's  kingdom,  if  sin  had  never  ta- 
ken place,  is  an  impeachment  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
God. 

What  kind  of  metaphysics  are  brought  against  the  doctrine 
of  moral  inahility  ?  Why,  they   say  that  a  sinner  is  not   a  moral 


154 

agent  to  do  right,  but  is  one  to  do  wrong.  Some,  indeed,  deny 
the  sinner's  moral  agency,  together  with  his  probationary  state. 
I  cannot  here  descend  to  a  consideration  of  their  arguments : 
but  how  remote  from  the  general  strain  of  divine  truth  revealed 
in  God's  word !  how  contrary  to  the  testimony  of  our  own  ex- 
perience and  feelings  !  The  word  of  God  declares  our  actions 
to  be  free  and  accountable,  and  we  feel  and  know  that  they  are 
voluntary.  All  parts  of  the  scriptures  declare  that  God  is 
waiting  the  repentance  and  return  of  the  wicked,  not  willing 
that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance. 

The  obvious  motive  of  the  cry  that  is  raised  against  metaphy- 
sics, is  to  screen  errors  from  the  lash  of  truth,  and  from  the  resist- 
less force  of  demonstrative  argument :  and  if  certain  men  have 
found  themselves  urged  to  dwell  upon  the  argumentative  strain, 
it  has  been  owing  to  the  obtrusive  and  importunate  efforts  of 
error  to  uphold  and  extend  the  dominion  of  darkness.  And  it 
is  rare  that  Satan  has  ever  resorted  to  so  subtile,  so  dangerous, 
or  so  successful  an  artifice.  What  method  can  be  more  con- 
venient, or  more  summary,  to  close  the  ear  of  thousands  against 
conviction,  than  to  say  this  argument  is  metaphysical :  ah ! 
that  book  is   nothing   but  metaphysics  ! 

The  prejudice  that  has  been  excited,  with  efforts  protracted 
through  a  series  of  years,  and  cherished  with  such  care  and 
zeal  ;  the  prejudice  of  very  many  in  this  city  against  New-England 
sentiments,  has  been  owing  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  ceaseless 
operation  of  this  mischievous  engine.  The  perpetual  fire  of 
Vesta  was  never  watched  with  such  sleepless  eyes,  nor  nou- 
rished with  such  abundant  fuel.  And  what  harvest  has  grown 
up  and  ripened  from  this  assiduous  cultivation  "^  Shall  I  say  a 
harvest  of  errors  1  The  mixtures  of  religion  of  any  sort  are 
hardly  sufficient  to  include  theological  errors  :  there  is  inanity 
of  sentiment ;  there  is  emptiness  of  mind  ;  there  is  negation 
of  thought ;  people   are  not  instructed. 

The  New-England  Sermons,  Essays,  and  Tracts,  which  here 
are  absolutely  and  roundly  condemned,  as  metaphysical  hair- 
splitting, are  in  fact  able  and  unanswerable  demonstrations  of 
the    most  important  truths  of  God's  word  ;  carried   home   to  the 


155 

understanding  and  conscience  by  evidence ;  and  as  secure  from 
refutation  as  the  solid  shores  that  bound  the  ocean  are  from  the 
waves  that  break  upon  them.  I  cannot  but  think  it  inevitable, 
that  the  public  eye  will  be  struck  with  two  volumes  of  triangular 
sermons  lately  exhibited  in  this  city.  I  entreat  the  reader  of  ser- 
mons to  lay  them  by  the  side  of  a  book  of  the  sermons  of  Ed- 
wards, or  of  Emmons,  and  have  the  patience  to  examine  and 
compaie.  I  trust  the  white  paper  and  conspicuous  print  will 
not  be  admitted  to  have  any  weight  in  the  comparison,  and  I 
have  nothing  more  to  ask,  and  nothing  to  fear.  The  reader 
cannot  but  perceive  the  gaunt  sides,  narrow  figure,  and  sharp 
corners  of  the  triangle.  No  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world  will  there  meet  his  eye.  The  non-elect  is,  indeed, 
in  one  place,  insulted  with  the  declaration  that  he  will  be 
punished  for  not  believing  that  Christ  died  for  him.  (P.  199, 
vol.  1.  6th  line  from  the  top.)  The  beauty  and  glory  of  reli- 
gion, as  consisting  in  the  whole  train  of  lovely  virtues  and  graces, 
beginning  with  supreme  love  to  God,  nowhere  meets  the  eye, 
and  captivates  the  heart.  But,  on  the  contrary,  the  reader  is 
told  that  "  the  righteousness  of  faith  is  the  radical  principle  of 
revealed  religion,  from  Genesis  to  Revelations."  (Vol.  1.  p.  69, 
at  top.)  And  1  will  here  stop  to  tell  him  that  there  is  one  place, 
at  least,  where  a  more  radical  principle  is  mentioned.  (1  Cor. 
xiii.  13.)  "  Now  abideth  faith^  hope,  charity,  but  the  greatest 
of  these  is  charity." 

The  author  himself  seems  aware  of  his  triangular  figure, 
when  he  observes,  in  his  Preface,  that  there  will  be  perceived 
"  a  recurrence  of  the  same  thoughts  and  often  of  the  same  man- 
ner of  expression."  This  he  accounts  for  by  observing,  that 
"  Great  and  general  principles  are  closely  connected,  and  so  in- 
corporated with  the  results  of  these  principles,  that  it  is  not  pos- 
sible for  a  person  whose  opinions  on  these  principles  and  their 
results  are  definite  and  unwavering,  to  conceal  or  dissemble  his 
views  or  feelings." 

I  had  no  thought  of  making  remarks  on  style,  but  I  must 
confess  this  sentence  presents  a  heap  of  opinions,  principles, 
and  results,   which   reminds  me   of  the   gordian   knot.     Does  he 


156 

mean  to  say  that  the  great  and  general  principles  of  religion 
and  natural  philosophy  are  connected,  and  incorporated  with 
the  results  of  the  principles  of  mathemetics,  and  that  it  is  not 
possible  for  a  person  whose  opinions  on  the  principles  of  ma- 
thematics and  their  results  are  definite  and  unwavering,  to 
conceal  or  dissemble  his  views  or  feelings  about  politics  ?  All 
this  might  be  understood,  for  his  grand  proposition  is,  that 
great  and  general  principles  are  closely  connected :  which  is  of 
the  highest  kind  of  universals,  rendered  so  by  the  removal  of 
all  notes  of  particularity,  as  logicians  tell  us.  But  if  great  and 
general  principles  are  connected,  then  the  great  and  gene- 
ral principles  of  religion  and  natural  philosophy  are  connected, 
and  so  are  those  of  law  and  physic.  But  his  second  proposition 
is  more  extraordinary  ;  for  he  says,  that  great  and  general  prin- 
ciples are  incorporated  with  the  results  of  these  principles  :  with 
a  different  usque  ad,  he  seems  here  to  mean  certain  principles  he 
had  in  his  eye,  but  leaves  to  conjecture  what ;  therefore,  I 
substitute  matheaiatics,  and  it  will  stand  thus :  "  The  great  and 
general  principles  of  religion  and  natural  philosophy  are  connect- 
ed and  incorporated  with  the  results  of  the  principles  of  the  ma- 
thematics." His  third  proposition  is  a  consequence,  viz.  "  There- 
fore, it  is  not  possible  for  a  person  whose  opinions  on  these  prin- 
ciples and  results  are  definite  and  unwavering  to  conceal  or  dis- 
semble his  views  or  feelings."  But,  reader,  does  fixedness  of 
opinion,  concerning  any  principles  and  results,  offer  any  apology 
for  repetition,  or  render  concealment  or  dissembling  impossible  ? 
The  reader  may  repress  his  surprise  that  I  dwell  on  this 
matter,  for  certainly  if  Stephens,  or  Bentley,  or  Scaliger,  might 
give  a  column  on  a  word  in  Virgil,  I  may  speculate  a  little  on 
half  a  page  of  this  preface,  "  quod,  sine  dubio,  fuit  elaboratum 
industria,  et  prefectum  ingenio."  And  I  shall  make  bold  to 
offer  this  as  a  specimen  of  the  metaphysics  of  these  people. 
Now,  reader,  this  whole  argument  is  false.  Its  premises  are 
not  true,  and,  if  they  were,  the  conclusion  does  not  follow :  and, 
if  it  did,  it  does  not  answer  the  purpose  intended  by  it.  In  the 
first  place,  "  great  and  general  principles  are  not  necessarily, 
nor  generally,  connected,"  for,  if   they  are,  the  construction    I 


157 

have  given  above  is  correct.  They  may  be  found  in  the  same 
subject,  but  are  perfectly  distinct  and  independent.  In  the  se- 
cond place,  they  are  not  incorporated  with  the  results  of  each 
other,  nor  with  their  own  results.  These  words,  so  connected, 
make  a  flourish,  but  mean  nothing.  But  in  the  third  pkce  :  If  it 
be  admitted  that  all  general  principles  are  connected,  and  their 
results,  vice  versa,  incorporated  together,  (a  most  horrid  idea  !) 
and  if  also  admitted,  that  a  man  is  definite  and  unwavering  in  his 
opinion  about  them,  that  is  no  reason  or  apology  for  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  same  thought,  much  less  for  not  concealing  or  dis- 
sembling his  opinions. 

How  much  better  would  have  been  the  author's  apology  for 
a  perpetual  recurrence  of  a  few  ideas,  had  he  said,  "  The  man 
who  moves  in  a  triangle  has  but  three  short  lines  to  trace,  and 
three  corners  to  turn  1"  "  O  ye  Corinthians,  ye  are  straitened 
in  your  own  bowels  !" 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  VI. 

I  HAVE  before  me  the  Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Synod  of  Phila- 
delphia, dated  Lancester,  September  20th,  1816,  of  which  I 
give  the  first  paragraph. 

"  Christian  Brethren, 
"  The  Synod  assembled  in  Lancester,  at  the  present  time, 
consists  of  a  greater  number  of  members  than  have  been  corv- 
vened  at  any  meeting  for  many  years ;  and  from  their  free  con- 
versation on  the  state  of  religion,  it  appears,  that  all  the  Pres- 
byteries are  more  than  commonly  alive  to  the  importance  of 
contending  earnestly  for  the  faith,  once  delivered  to  the  saints, 
and  of  resisting  the  introduction  of  Arian,  Socinian,  Arminian, 
and  Hopkinsian  heresies ;  which  are  some  of  the  means  by 
which  the  enemy  of  souls  would,  if  possible,  deceive  the  very 
elect." 

14 


158 

The  third  paragraph  runs  thus :  "  May  the  time  never  come, 
ill  which  our  ecclesiastical  courts  shall  determine  that  Hop- 
kinsianism  and  the  doctrines  of  our  confession  of  faith  are  the 
same  thing ;  or  that  men  are  less  exposed  now,  than  in  the  days 
of  the  apostles,  to  the  danger  of  perverting  the  right  ways  of 
the  Lord." 

People  of  the  union,  hear  this,  and  feel  what  gratitude  you 
owe  to  a  good  Providence,  which  shields  your  religious  rights 
from  the  persecuting  fury  of  bigotry  and  intolerance.  The 
tocsin  is  now  blown,  and  while  Truth  grasps  her  sword,  and 
Charity  veils  her  face,  let  Vigilance  light  her  lamp,  and  stand  at 
her  threshold. 

I  had  closed  this  series,  and  sent  it  to  the  press,  but  this  ex- 
traordinary letter  merits  immediate  consideration.  Shall  I  dip 
my  pen  in  ridicule,  and  expose  this  transaction  in  the  mock 
robe  it  merits  ?  Alas  !  this  cloud  of  darkness  throws  every  ob- 
ject under  a  shade  too  mournful  to  admit  of  using  the  livelier 
colours. 

Do  we,  then,  in  this  Pastoral  Letter,  hear  the  voice  and  the 
sentiments  of  the  fathers  of  the  church,  the  central  section  of 
the  General  Assembly — that  august  body  reared  by  divine  grace, 
in  this  free  and  happy  country,  and  by  the  special  blessing  of 
God  grown  to  a  size  so  majestic,  in  a  time  so  comparatively 
short  ?  That  Assembly,  now  spreading  its  branches  to  the  east 
and  west,  to  the  north  and  to  the  south,  with  the  prospect  of  a 
boundary  that  may  still  expand  for  ages  ? 

Where  are  the  great  and  benevolent  founders  of  these  Synods, 
and  of  this  Assembly?  Has  the  angel  of  heavenly  love,  and 
charity,  and  peace,  together  with  them,  taken  her  flight  for  ever  t 
Ye  spirits  of  Davies,  and  Witherspoon,  and  Finley,  of  Rodgers 
and  M'Whorter,  under  whose  mild  and  harmonizing  influence 
this  tree  was  planted,  unless  removed  from  all  knowledge  of 
its  prospects  and  dangers— from  all  sympathy  with  this  region 
of  sin  and  death,  can  you  behold  a  devouring  flame  kindled  in 
its  central  boughs,  and  not  feel  a  momentary  thrill  of  anxiety  ? 

1  cannot  but  indulge  in  reflections  like  these,  when  I  advert 
to  the  character,  the  temper,  the  spirit,  the  wisdom  of  the  men, 
who,  under  God,  were  the  founders  of  these  religious  institu- 
tions.    I  mention  these    men,    not  because   they   were    the  only 


159 

men  concerned  in  that  great  and  benevolent  work  ;  there  were 
many  others  equally  engaged,  and  perhaps  some  equally  useful. 
The  reader  will  now  perceive  the  justice  of  the  remarks  made 
in  the  former  series,  concerning  the  opposition  made  to  the  strain 
of  doctrine  called  Hopkinsian.  In  this  number  I  shall  call  his 
attention  to  a  few  remarks  on  this  Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Synod 
of  Philadelphia. 

1.  It  is  impossible  not  to  perceive  that  Hopkinsianism  is  the 
grand  error  aimed  at  in  that  letter.  They  declare  in  the  same 
letter  that  there  never  was  but  one  Socinian  Society  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Synod,  and  it  could  not  be  thought  necessary  to 
send  a  circular  letter  to  all  the  congregations  in  the  Synod, 
and,  in  fact,  to  all  the  continent,  on  account  of  one  Antitrinita- 
rian  Society.  An  act  so  official  and  formal,  for  a  single  con- 
gregation, and  that,  perhaps,  a  very  small  one,  would  scarcely 
appear  decorous.  As  to  Arianism,  it  is  doubtful  whether  they 
have  an  individual  of  that  heresy  in  all  their  bounds.  They  cer- 
tainly have  not  a  congregation  of  that  order. 

Nor  did  I  ever  know  till  now,  nor  was  there  ever  a  solitary- 
instance,  as  I  have  heard,  of  any  public  body,  in  the  United 
States,  publishing  a  formal  denunciation  of  Arminianism  as 
heresy.  The  term  Arminian  is  variously  used  and  understood, 
and  is  applied  to  various  shades  of  difference,  from  Arminius, 
the  founder  of  the  sect.  Few,  if  any,  of  the  protestant  churches 
have  chosen  to  censure  Arminianism  as  a  damnable  heresy ; 
and  it  has  never  been  done,  before   the  present    instance,  in  this 

^  country. 

The  Philadelphia  Synod  seem  to  have  forgotten  that  very- 
large  and  respectable  bodies  of  Christians,  in  our  own  country, 
such  as  the  Episcopalians,  Methodists,  and  several  others,  are 
usually  denominated  Arminians.  All  these  they  have  con- 
demned, in  the  severest  and  strongest  terms,  as  heretics  ;  have 
held  them  up  to  public  odium  and  abhorrence.  Whatever 
that  Synod  may  think,  I  cannot  but  esteem  them  Christian 
churches,  comprising  many  members  of  great  piety,  and  having 
many  divines  of  distinguished  eminence.  It  has  pleased  God 
to  make   the  church   of  England,    or    the  nation  professing  that 

.  faith,  the  grand  barrier  of  the  Protestant   cause  in  Christendom 


160 

for  ages  past,  and  many  of  their  divines  are  among  the  brightest 
ornaments  of  the  church  of  Christ  ;  God  forbid  that  I  should 
call  them,  or  think  them,  heretics. 

2.  Had  this  language  been  held  in  some  anonymous  publica- 
tion ;  had  it  appeared  in  the  writings  of  some  individual,  as  his 
own  private  opinion  ;  had  it  appeared  in  a  public  journal ;  had 
it  been  delivered  in  a  sermon  from  the  desk,  the  individual 
might  have  been  thought  overheated  in  his  zeal,  and  carried 
beyond  the  bounds  of  his  own  cool  reason.  But  what  is  it  ?  In 
what  form  does  it  meet  our  eye  ?  It  is  the  act  of  a  great  num- 
ber ;  the  act  of  professed  ministers  of  Christ  and  ambassadors 
of  God ;  it  is  the  act  of  an  ecclesiastical  court,  the  central  Sy- 
nod of  the  union  ;  it  is  in  the  nature  of  a  law,  or  rule,  and  set 
as  a  precedent  for  all  other  ecclesiastical  courts,  and  for  all  fu- 
ture time. 

3.  It  condemns,  at  one  stroke,  an  immense  body  of  Chris- 
tians in  New-England,  where,  it  is  well  known,  this  strain 
of  sentiment  prevails  almost  universally,  and  that  whole  body, 
in  its  various  sections,  are  amicably  represented  in  the  general 
assembly  ;  and  their  representatives,  from  year  to  year,  set  on 
the  same  seats  by  the  side  of  members  of  this  Synod.  More- 
over, the  assembly  is,  also,  represented  in  the  various  conven- 
tions, or  associations,  of  the  New-England  churches,  whenever 
they  assemble.  But  this  would  be  a  small  consideration  in 
comparison  with  another  :  Many  ministers  and  churches,  who 
actually  belong  to  the  general  assembly,  perhaps  one  third, 
perhaps  one  half^  are  full  in  this  strain  of  doctrine,  and  are  con- 
demned as  heretics  b/  this  pastoral  letter. 

4.  The  sentiments  usually  denominated  Hopkinsian  were 
never  considered  as  heresy  by  the  founders  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  America,  nor  by  the  wisest  and  ablest  divines  who 
differed  with  them,  in  any  subsequent  period,  in  Europe  or 
America.  Nothing  was  ever  further  from  their  thoughts  than 
any  idea  of  making  them  at  all  a  breaking  point  in  church  com- 
munion and  fellowship.  Candidates  for  the  ministry  were  ne- 
ver impeded  in  their  progress,  or  censured  for  holding  them. 
Ordination,  or  licensure,  was  never  refused  to  a  man  who  pro- 
fessed them,  nor  was  any  bar  laid  in  the  way  of  his  acceding  to 
any  vacant  church    which  had  given  him  a  call.     Names,  suf- 


161 

ficient  to  fill  this  paper,  are  now  in  my  recollection  of  ministers 
and  licentiates  coming  from  New-England,  and  settling  within 
the  bounds  of  the  general  assembly,  who  are  full  in  these  sen- 
timents ;  and  of  ministers  and  licentiates  going  from  the  bounds 
of  the  general  assembly,  to  settle  in  the  congregational  churches 
of  New-England.  No  test,  abjuration,  or  oath  of  purgation,  has 
ever  been  imposed  or  taken  in  either  case ;  no  dark  suspicions 
or  jealousies  ;  no  whisperings  or  calumnies  resorted  to  in  the 
general  operation  of  these  removals  in  this  wide  extent  of 
country.  The  trustees  of  Princeton  College  did  not  start  and 
shudder  with  horror  at  Jonathan  Edwards  when  they  called 
him  to  the  high  and  honourable  station  of  president,  although 
the  heresies  of  his  sentiments  had  been  long  promulgated  and 
known.  But  I  shall  not  descend  to  names,  otherwise  I  might 
introduce  a  list  of  great  length  and  equal  respectability,  which 
might  have  cooled  this  fervid  ebullition  of  ecclesiastical  censure 
and  proscription. 

5.  The  measures  taken  by  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  are 
pregnant  with  mischief,  misery,  and  ruin  ;  and,  all  circumstan- 
ces considered,  I  question  whether  the  annals  of  the  Christian 
Church  afford  a  greater  instance  of  rashness,  imprudence,  im- 
policy, or  injustice.  Do  they,  indeed,  imagine  that  this  watch- 
word will  be  taken  from  them,  and  that  all  the  Synods  in  this 
connection  will  ring  with  this  dreadful  denunciation,  "  here- 
sy, and  the  means  by  lahich,  if  it  loere  possible^  the  enemy  of 
souls  would  deceive  the  very  elect  i"'  What  are  we  to  expect 
next,  provided  this  Synod  act  in  character  with  their  sentence 
and  injunction  ?  What  is  the  rule  of  the  everlasting  gospel  ? 
••  A  heretic,  after  the  first  and  second  admonition,  reject." 
What  is  to  be  the  regular  operation  of  this  business,  provided  all 
who  differ  from  Hopkinsianism  shall  condemn  it  as  heresy  ? 
Individual  members  are  to  be  hurled  out  of  churches ;  churches 
are  to  be  rent  with  disputes  and  divisions,  and  some  of  them 
severed  from  Presbyteries ;  Presbyteries  are  to  be  turned  out 
of  Synods^  and  Synods  divided  ;  and,  by  this  time,  what  be- 
comes of  the  Assembly  itself  ?  Its  full  orb  will  wane,  and  pre- 
sent a  fading  and  sickly  crescent ;  "  will  become  a  proverb 
and  by-word,  a  reproach  and  astonishment"  to  all  mankind. 
14* 


162 

And  what  impression    will   this  measure    make  on   the  public 
mind?    How   will   it   appear  to  this   young   and   rising  nation, 
whose  struggles  for  her  own  independence  and  freedom  are  not 
yet  forgotten  ?  How  will  it   strike  at  the  feelings    of  the  great 
and  highly  respectable  fraternity    of   the   Episcopal  institution, 
who  are   carelessly  anathematized    as  heretics,    merely    for   a 
handsome  pretext  to  lengthen  out  the  rod  over   their   shoulders 
to  reach  others  ?  For  it  is  not  to  be  doubted   that   that   form  of 
speech,  "  Arians,  Socinians,    Arminians,"  &c.,  was    resorted  to 
merely  to  make  the  bundle  of  heretics   as  huge  as  possible,  that, 
by  a  kind  of  indiscrimination,  the  censure,  the  single  censure  on 
the  heads  of  the  Hopkinsians  might  not   seem  solitary  and   par- 
tial ;  in  short,   that  it  might   appear  one   sweeping  stroke  at   all 
heresy. 

But  I  asked,  in  a  former  paragraph,  whether  we  were  to  un- 
derstand this  as  the  voice  and  sentiment  of  the  fathers  and 
counsellors  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  I  rejoice  to  say,  for 
the  honour  of  my  country,  and  for  the  religion  I  profess,  that 
nothing  is  farther  from  it.  I  recognise,  in  this  act,  the  features 
of  some  fierce  and  furious  spirits,  who,  in  an  inauspicious  hour 
of  darkness  and  incaution,  gained  so  much  the  ascendant  in  that 
body  as  to  procure  this  abortion  of  a  Bull^  who  has  faintly 
roared  once,  and  will  never  be  heard  again.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  its  authors,  ere  this,  do,  even  in  their  closets,  shudder  be- 
fore the  bar  of  public  sentiment;  that  they,  severally  and  indi- 
vidually, wish  that,  at  that  moment,  they  had  been  a  day's  jour- 
^  ney  from  that  Synod,  and  employed  in  a  manner,  if  it  would 
not  promote,  that  would  not  endanger  the  prosperity  and  exist- 
ence of  the  church. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


DEDICATION 

TO   THE   THIRD   SERIES 


TO    THE    LEARNED,     AND    LONG-LIVED, 

JOHN  DOE  AND  RICHARD  ROE,  Esquires. 


Gentlemen, 

It  is  well  known  that  every  artist  and  handicrafts-man  is  de- 
sirous of  having  his  work  approved,  both  as  a  source  of  emol- 
ument and  reputation.  This  principle  operates,  probably,  with 
greater  force  on  the  minds  of  authors  than  any  other  class  of 
men.  For,  aside  either  of  profit  or  reputation,  with  which  most 
writers  have  little  to  do,  there  is  a  great  pleasure  in  knowing, 
that  we  have  power  to  engage  the  attention  of  gentlemen  of 
learning  and  leisure,  or  ladies  of  beauty  and  fortune,  even  though 
they  may  dislike  our  productions.  To  know  that  our  works 
circulate  through  the  finest  parlours,  where  the  pictures  of  he- 
roes and  princes,  nobles  and  beauties,  may  gaze  silently  upon 
them  ; — to  know  that  they  sometimes  repose  on  the  marble, 
beneath  mirrors  of  the  greatest  value  and  purest  reflection,  by 
which  their  number  is  doubled,  or  on  the  purple  sofa  with  the 
lap-dog,  whence  they  may  be  lifted  with  the  fairest  hand,  and 
llieir  titles  read,  though  their  leaves  are  never  turned  over,  or, 
perhaps,  on  the  elegant  piano,  mingled  with  leaves  of  musick, 
where,  had  they  but  ears,  they  might  hear  strains  sweeter  than 
the  harp  of  Orpheus,  or  the  melting  voice  of  Sappho  ;  and  thence 
come  to  their  long  quietus,  behind  the  folding  glasses  of  the 
book-case,  where  they  enjoy  perpetual  and  dignified  repose,  till, 
overhaled  by  executors,  the  ministers  of  the  dead,  and,  perhaps, 
go  thence  to  auction  ;  this,  I  say.  Gentlemen,  is  food  to  the  inno- 
cent and  noble  ambition  of  writers.  And  even  at  the  auction,  ho- 
nour still  pursues  them  :  for,  perhaps,  the  auctioneer  holds  up  a 
book,  and  says  to  the  admiring  rabble,  "  Here,  Gentlemen,  here 
is  a  book  from  the  select  library  of  Lord  Mumble  :  see  it — the 
leaves  are  as  bright  as  though  they  had  never  seen  the  sun."  And, 
perhaps,  Jack  Fribble  bids  it  off,  and,  without  tarnishing  its  pure 


164 

pages  by  one  exposure  to  the    inclement   air,  it  goes    to   another 
respite  of  thirty  years. 

Such  views  and  feelings  we  have,  Gentlemen,  and  I  beg  you  to 
excuse  the  plain  concession  of  one  who  is  ne'er  the  less  sincere 
for  not  having  studied  the  molia  tempora  fandi.  But  we  have 
still  sublimer  hopes  than  these  :  When  a  book  goes  from  our  hands, 
we  naturally  look  forward,  till,  wrapped  in  future  vision,  we 
fancy  it,  at  length,  to  have  escaped  the  ravages  of  time — to  have 
survived  more  generations  than  the  Pylean  sage — to  have  over- 
lived removals,  revolutions,  wars,  fires,  floods,  and  worms,  till  its 
lacerated  covers,  yellow  paper,  perforated  leaves,  and  rounded 
angles,  no  less  than  its  antique  orthography  and  obsolete  style, 
declare  it  full  three  hundred  years  old.  Then  we  know  it  be- 
comes invaluable,  of  course,  especially,  if  age  has  rendered  it  ille- 
gible. It  then  is  purchased  by  Dr.  Flummery,  a  descendant  of 
the  present  family  of  that  name,  which  I  know  will  never  become 
extinct,  and  is  worthy  of  scholiasts,  readings,  glossaries,  and  noten 
variorum.  I  shall  say  nothing  of  succeeding  and  splendid  editions  ; 
it  is  among  the  old  authors,  and  that  is  sufficient.  Thus,  again, 
it  goes  on,  rising  from  dust  and  ashes,  like  a  Phcenix,  once  or 
twice  in  six  hundred  years,  and  triumphing  over  every  thing,  till 
it  swells  the  flame  of  the  last  conflagration.  Animated  by  such 
prospects,  no  wonder  men  are  willing  to  write  in  a  garret,  dine 
on  a  crust,  direct  their  pen  by  the  light  of  vellum,  and  sleep  on  a 
pallet  of  straw. 

I  have  mentioned  these  things,  Gentleman,  that  you  may  per- 
ceive I  am  no  stranger  to  the  feelings  of  an  author.  Sed  nunc 
ad  proposiium  :  You  are  to  know,  that  the  Triangle  has  had  a 
tolerable  circulation  in  this  country  ;  but  the  grand  desideratum 
is  to  get  it  beyond  the  Atlantic,  and  to  have  it  read,  if  possible, 
in  England.  Whether  it  is  because  books  cannot  move  against 
the  sun,  I  do  not  know,  but  few  of  our  books  perform  transat- 
lantic journeys.  As  I  have  no  great  faith  in  the  subject  I  have 
chosen,  to  give  it  an  interest  in  distant  countries,  nor  have  I  full 
confidence  in  the  execution  of  the  work  to  accomplish  that  end, 
I  must  rely  on  a  dedication,  as  many  others  have  done,  to  carry 
the  book  where,  otherwise,  it  would  probably  never  go.  And 
when  you  understand  these  to  be  among  my  motives  for  select- 
ing you,  I  presume  you  will  justify  my  conduct,  and  accept 
the  oflfering  humbly  laid  at   your  feet. 

I  beg  permission  to  dedicate  to  you,  Gentlemen,  from  the 
grand  consideration  of  your  amazing  longevity,  Avhich,  though  it 
has  never  occurred  to  any  one  before,  (and  I  admire  that  it  has 
not,)  will  be  considered  by  every  reader  as  a  proper  motive. 
Your  career  began  before  the  reigns  of  the  Henrys  and  Edwards  ; 
and  you  witnessed  the  conflicts  between  the  red  and  white 
rose  ;  you  lived  through  the  Republic  and  the  storms  raised 
bj   Cromwell ;    you  witnessed   the   calamities   of  the   inauspi- 


165 

cious  house  of  Stuart — saw  the  Restoration — the  Revolution — 
and  have  known  the  times  ever  since.  You  saw  and  heard  all 
the  controversies  of  Papist  and  Protestant,  Episcopalian  and 
Presbyterian,  Roundheads,  Independents,  Covenanters,  Puritans, 
Friends,  &;c.  You  witnessed  the  agitations  and  intrigues  of  the 
Ryehouse  plot  ;  saw  the  fall  of  Sydney  and  Russell  ;  the  bigotry 
and  folly  of  the  second  James,  and  the  vices  and  vagaries  of  the 
second  Charles  ;  the  feverish  greatness  and  doubtful  glory  of 
William,  and  the  uncertain,  inconsistent,  and  anxious  administra- 
tion of  Anne.  You  must  have  frequented  the  courts  adorned  and 
dignified  by  the  presence  of  Bacon,  Hale,  Coke,  Mansfield,  and 
Blackstone.  You  have  often  stood  by  when  the  elder  Pitt  thun- 
dered in  the  ear  of  the  nation,  and,  you  saw  the  conflict  of  talents 
and  stupidity,  of  corruption  and  integrity,  of  pride  and  folly,  when 
the  British  empire  was  severed,  and  our  country  declared  inde- 
pendent. 

With  such  experience,  Gentlemen,  as  you  have  had,  and  such 
observation  as  you  must  have  made,  what  may  I  not  expect  .'' 
I  have  frequently  alluded  to  the  times  of  the  Reformation; 
you  lived  through  all  those  times,  and  no  doubt,  could  write  a  his- 
tory that  would  instruct,  if  not  surprise,  the  world.  To  you  I 
confidently,  and  may  safely,  appeal  for  the  correctness  of  my 
declarations  and  statements. 

To  almost  antediluvian  longevity  you  add  an  unimpeached, 
and,  of  course,  an  unimpeachable  reputation.  Though  you  have 
been  the  constant  attendants  of  the  grandest  courts  of  justice  for 
many  centuries,  without  ever  absenting  yourselves  on  any  occa« 
sion,  your  names  are  always  pronounced  with  respect  and  gravity, 
both  in  doors  and  out,  by  the  bench,  bar,  clients,  and  spectators  : 
a  felicity  which  never  fell  to  the  lot  of  any  other  men.  This  sin- 
gular felicity  you  derive  from  your  impartiality,  which  is  as  far 
beyond  all  comparison,  as  are  your  longevity  and  reputation. 
Your  sole  object  is  to  guard  the  liberties  and  repose  of  honest  men 
against  the  rash  and  litigious  ;  to  see  that  suits,  which  are  legally 
commenced,  should  be  duly  prosecuted,  and  not  to  suffer  a  man 
to  harrass  his  neighbour  awhile,  and  then  skulk  in  silence  behind 
the  curtain.  Of  course,  there  would  have  been  a  peculiar  propri- 
ety in  dedicating  every  part  of  this  work  to  you. 

But,  Gentlemen,  that  trait  which  I  especially  admire  in  your 
characters,  is  that  independence  of  mind  which  never  has  forsaken 
you  in  the  worst  of  times,  when  tyrants  frowned  and  threatened, 
nor  in  the  softest  and  most  luxurious,  when  dissipation  allures 
the  brave,  and  flattery  circumvents  the  wise.  Even  when  the 
stern  Henry  sent  the  lovely  and  virtuous  Ann  Boleyn  to  the  block, 
and  the  worthy,  but  too  yielding,  Cranmer  to  the  flames,  you  stood 
your  ground,  and  felt  no  fear ;  when  the  bloody  Mary  illuminated 
England  with  the  flames  of  martyrs  ;  when  the  perjured  and  horrid 
Jefl!"ries  rendered  the  circuit  of  his  court  like  the  path  of  the  destroy- 
ing angel,    you.   Gentlemen  never  deviated  from  the  path  of  jus- 


166 

tice,  and  no  one  impeached  your  conduct,   entertained  a  suspicion 
of  your  integrity,  or  a  thought  prejudicial  to  your  welfare. 

As  you  have  never  swerved  in  storms  of  despotic  fury  or  re- 
publican ferocity  ;  as  papal  pride,  episcopal  power,  independent 
arrogance,  and  libertine  licentiousness,  could  never  affect  you  ;  as 
you  are  always  the  same  in  the  calm  of  peace  and  rage  of  war, 
the  quietude  of  establishment  and  whirl  of  revolution,  the  night 
of  anarchy  and  the  noon  of  order,  it  is  to  such  men  as  you  I 
may  safely  look  to  patronize  my  work. 

I  have  duly  considered,  Gentlemen,  that  you  are  not  lawyers, 
though  that  class  certainly  excels  all  others  in  point  of  eloquence  ; 
and  a  real  orator  cannot  he  a  bigot,  though  many  of  them  are  no 
incompetent  judges  of  theological  opinions  and  doctrines  :  yet, 
they  are  generally  engaged  in  professional  business,  and  have  not 
leisure  to  divide  their  attention,  or  bestow  their  patronage  on  any 
side  of  a  religous  controversy.  And  I  heartily  wish  that  a  less 
number  of  them  were  hke  Gallio,  "  who  cared  for  none  of  these 
things."  I  am  likewise  consoled  by  the  consideration  that  you 
are  not  popular  men  :  "  For,"  says  Sir  William  Temple,  "  come 
not  too  near  to  a  man  studying  to  rise  in  popular  favour  unless 
you  can  aid  him  in  his  grand  object,  lest  you  meet  with  a  repulse." 
There  may  be,  indeed,  contrived  a  reciprocity  of  interest  and 
obligation,  and  then  you  can  advance  with  the  proper  overture, 
*'  TitiUa  me  et  tiiillabo  te  ;"*  then  it  will  do.  But  you.  Gentle- 
men, are  in  pursuit  of  no  man's  favour,  suffrage,  influence,  or 
patronage.  You  have  seen,  from  the  raised  platform  of  solid  re- 
putation, numerous  generations  of  ambitious  men  grasping  for 
dominion,  disappear,  like  insects  swept  into  the  lake,  by  the  sud- 
den wing  of  the  tempest,  while  yourselves  remain  unmoved. 

Moreover,  you  are  not  authors — from  whom  an  author  as  rarely 
gets  patronage  as  a  hungry  man  does  food  from  ravens  ;  for,  says 
Johnson,  few  things  can  be  published,  however  exalted  or  mean, 
however  contemptible  or  meritorious,  however  great  or  little, 
from  which  an  author  will  not  fancy  some  obstruction  in  some 
channel  of  his  fame,  some  diminution  of  the  splendour  of  his  repu- 
tation. The  public  mind  cannot  be  more  than  occupied,  and,  as 
each  author  hopes  to  seize  a  hemisphere  at  least,  and  some  more, 
as  you  see,  every  new  candidate  for  notice  and  applause  must  take, 
perhaps,  a  share  from  those  that  occupied  it  before  ;  and  great 
authors  act  on  one  another  like  the  disturbing  influences  of  the 
planets  on  the  centre  of  gravity,  by  which  it  is  often  caused  to  va- 
cillate. Well  it  is  that  some  of  them  do  not  drag  it  beyond  the  or- 
bit of  Saturn.  But  you,  Gentlemen,  are  no  authors,  homines  viventes 
estis — and  living  men  are  you  likely  to  remain.  You  have 
none  of  these  low  prejudices  and  selfish  fears.  You  do  not  say 
of  one  excellent  book,  it  is  very  well,  but  the  author  was  a  pla- 
giarist ;  of  another,  it  is  dull  and  tedious,  and  not  worth  reading ; 

*  Tickle  me,  and  I'll  tickle  you. 


167 

of  a  third,  it  is  written  with  ability,  but  the  sentiments  are  false ; 
of  a  fourth,  the  author  meant  well,  but  his  subject  was  badly 
handled  :  and  so  on  to  the  hundredth,  with  a  but  to  every  one 
of  them.  Not  but  that  there  may,  indeed,  be  such  huts  in  reality, 
for  most  human  things  have  a  but ;  but  all  these  huts  of  authors, 
are  generally  expounded  by  one,  viz.,  hut  I  am  an  author,  which 
may  properly  be  called  the  author's  hut. 

Equal  cause  have  I  to  rejoice,  that  you  are  not  princes  or  no- 
bles ;  in  which  case,  among  numerous  candidates  of  patronage 
and  favour,  I  should  have  cause  to  fear  that  one  so  obscure  and 
remote  might  be  overlooked,  or,  perhaps,  easily  outbid  by  skilful 
flattery,  or,  perhaps,  by  arguments  more  siiining  and  solid,  and 
motives  addressed  more  home  to  the  heart.  Yet,  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  any  man  of  wealth  has  substantially  the  same  ability 
to  patronise  books  and  literature  that  princes  have,  and,  perhaps, 
fewer  demands  on  their  liberality  in  proportion  to  their  ability, 
it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  a  full  share  of  princes  have  been  pat- 
rons of  learning. 

I  scarcely  need  say,  that  you,  Gentlemen,  are  not  clergymen, 
otherwise  there  would  have  been  the  greatest  temerity  and  pre- 
sumption in  this  dedication.  Had  you  been  clergymen,  and  upon 
a  careful  enumeration  of  your  sides  and  angles  had  found  them 
to  be  six,  instead  of  threatening  to  prosecute  the  Investigator,  as 
some  clergymen,  after  counting  up,  have  done,  you  would,  per- 
haps, have  done  what  would  have  been  much  worse — you  would 
have  taken  no  notice  of  it.  It  is  with  clergymen  as  with  all  other 
classes  of  men ;  some  of  them  are  very  good  men,  and  some  are 
quite  the  other  way.,  as  you,  in  a  life  of  several  hundred  years, 
must  doubtless  have  observed.  The  good  clergymen,  which  I 
hope,  in  some  countries,  bear  some  respectable  proportion  to  the 
whole  number,  in  a  degree  resemble  the  elect ;  they  are  mingled 
with  a  numerous  class,  from  which  no  mortal  eye  can  certainly 
distinguish  them.  Few  men  are  viler  in  the  sight  of  heaven,  or 
more  full  of  mischief  among  men,  than  an  impious  clergyman  ; 
and  none  have  done  more  to  obstruct  the  progress  of  truth,  and 
the  interests  of  religion,  than  this  ill-fated  class.  They  derive 
their  extraordinary  power,  to  this  end,  fro.n  their  successful  en- 
deavours to  establish  a  high  reputation  for  piety  and  zeal :  and 
you.  Gentlemen,  no  doubt,  will  remember  the  time  when  Bonner 
and  Gardner  were  gazed  at  and  adored,  by  a  deluded  multitude, 
as  saints  next  in  holiness  to  the  apostles — nay,  when  Alexander 
the  Sixth  and  Caesar  Borgia  were  thought  still  much  greater  and 
better,  perhaps,  than  even  the  ordinary  apostles. 

You  will  riot  understand.  Gentlemen,  that  I  mean  to  fix  an 
equal  indiscriminate  censure  on  all  triangular  men.  I  am  far 
from  such  thoughts  or  feelings.  But  that  some  among  them  are 
wholly  given  to  pride,  ambition,  intrigue,  and  wickedness,  I  have 
not  a  doubt.     And  if  they    will  read  these  pages  they  will  proba- 


168 

bly  find  a    more    faithful  monitor,   and  a  truer  portrait,  than  will 
again  meet  their  eyes  till  they  stand  at  the  bar  of  God. 

I  am  not  insensible  that  many  clergyman  are  among  the  no- 
blest patrons,  promoters,  and  proficients,  in  elegant  literature  and 
the  arts.  But,  perhaps,  with  an  individual  exception,  as  far  as 
relates  to  this  city,  these  men  are  not  found  amongst  the  Trigonoi, 
a  name  by  which  I  sometimes  distinguish  them.  For,  Gentlemen, 
their  scheme  is  so  intolerably  narrow,  so  frozen  and  so  dark,  that 
the  mind  which  puts  it  on  is  immediately  and  terribly  shrunk  from 
its  ordinary  size,  however  small  or  great  it  might  have  been  be- 
fore. For  the  soul  seems  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  the  ethereal 
element ;  it  has  an  elastic  spring,  and  is  capable  of  great  com- 
pression ;  and,  perhaps,  on  that  account,  the  ancients  called 
them  by  the  same  name.  A  principal  feature  of  the  scheme  of 
these  teachers  is,  that  the  understandings  of  men  are  as  much 
depraved  by  sin  as  the  heart  or  the  will.  They  have  never  ex- 
hibited but  one  argument  which  seems  difficult  to  answer ;  and 
whether  that  is  "  argumenlum  ad  hominem^''  or  not,  I  shall  leave 
you  to  judge  ;  it  arises  not  from  what  they  say^  but  from  what 
they  are.  They  show  such  darkness  of  understanding,  that  all 
the  dictates  of  charity  and  mercy  loudly  plead  in  their  behalf 
that  it  might,  if  possible,  be  ascribed  to  some  other  than  voluntary 
eauses. 

I  have  only  to  apprize  you  of  one  fact,  Gentlemen,  and  I  shall 
close.  It  has  not  been,  either  will  it  be,  the  object  of  this  work, 
in  any  stage  of  it,  either  present,  past,  or  to  come,  to  enter  into 
theological  discussions,  or  controversies,  properly  so  called  :  on 
this  account  regular  details  of  argument  have  been  avoided ; 
besides,  that  the  writer  is  well  aware,  that  whenever  people  are 
disposed  to  read  for  the  sake  of  examining  arguments,  books,  at 
hand,  are  not  wanting  in  which  these  points  are  professedly 
argued  and  unanswerably  demonstrated.  I  have  perceived,  with 
inexpressible  regret,  the  people  of  a  great  and  flourishing,  a  free 
and  enlightened  city,  not  only  deprived  of  the  means  of  informa- 
tion, but  sinking  continually  deeper  into  the  absurd  and  gloomy 
prejudices  which  covered  the  eyes  of  men  three  hundred  years 
ago.  This  object  is  efl'ected  by  art  and  intrigue,  by  vague 
surmises  and  absurd  rumours,  by  public  declamations  and  eccle- 
siastical censures.  The  public,  though  somewhat  of  an  unwieldy 
body,  and  composed  of  crude  materials,  will  ultimately  judge 
correctly,  when  furnished  with  the  means. 

Let  the  history  of  this  business  be  stripped  of  its  covering,  and 
its  enormity  will  quickly  appear.  It  cannot  be  for  the  interest  of 
mankind  to  be  deceived  :  the  interest  of  the  soul,  and  the  concerns 
of  religion,  are  too  vast  to  be  sacrificed,  as  any  one  may  see,  to 
the  pride  and  ambition  of  a  reptile  whose  infamy  and  misery 
will  be  proportioned  to  his  success,  and  will  afford  but  a  wretched 
consolation  for  the  multitudes  who  have  been  seduced  by  his  wiles. 


169 

As  you,  Gentlemen,  have  long  personated  the  eye  of  public 
Justice,  you  can  have  no  prejudice,  and  can  desire  nothing  but 
that  truth  should  prevail.  The  truth,  which  had  made  some 
progress  in  this  city,  has  been  attacked  by  various  means,  and 
by  violent  measures.  While  the  adversaries  have  shown  no 
disposition  to  fair  and  liberal  discussion,  or  to  put  the  prevalence  of 
conflicting  sentiments  on  the  proper  issue  of  superior  conviction, 
they  have  gradually  put  in  motion  all  the  means  which  artful 
ambition  ever  derived  from  prejudice,  ignorance,  and  wilful  blind- 
ness. For  many  yeais  past  their  career  has  been  with  a  high 
hand,  and  pursued  with  a  supposed  ascendant  influence,  corrobo- 
rated with  a  pride  of  superiority,  and  insolence  of  success,  intolera- 
ble to  such  as  were  placed  in  a  situation  to  feel  the  secret  sting 
of  their  contumely,  or  the  lash  of  their  public  recrimination. 

Their  ascendency  was  supposed,  because  their  little  compara- 
tive omnipotence  was  never  attempted.  You  are  not  to  suppose 
that  this  city  was  void  of  all  intellect ;  but  while  objects  of  a 
nature  far  diff'erent  from  theological  discussion  principally  en- 
grossed the  public  attention,  and  while  a  great  body  of  people 
saw  nothing  about  these  men  but  the  snowy  robes  and  angelic 
meekness  of  peerless  sanctity,  and  a  still  greater  number  rendered 
careless  about  a  religion  equally  repugnant  to  reason  and  common 
sense,  and  independent  of  every  province  of  the  human  mind, 
cared  little  through  what  conduits  this  turbid  stream  of  inconsis- 
tency, mystery,  and  fanaticism  flowed,  the  ^ignorant  w^ere  silent 
through  veneration,  the  irreligious  through  indifference,  the  pious 
from  love  of  peace,  and  the  interested  from  motives  of  popularity. 
And  all  were  silent ; 

"  Inde  toro,  pater  iEneas  sic  orsns  ab  alto." 
15 


THE  TRIANGLE 


THIRD  SERIES. 


No.  I. 

If  the  opinion  of  Buffon,  that  man  is  a  gregarious  animal, 
were  not  admitted  as  an  evidence  of  the  fact,  the  observation 
of  every  intelligent  mind  would  lead  to  that  conclusion.  There 
is  something  equally  grand  and  pleasing  in  the  idea,  that  all 
rational  beings  are  social ;  and,  even  admitting  that  an  intelligent 
creature  could  be  so  constituted  as  to  endure  solitude  without 
pain,  yet,  we  may  safely  suppose,  that  reason  would  be  wasted , 
if  bestowed  on  such  a  creature  ;  which  supposition,  the  seclu- 
sion of  the  hermits  and  many  of  the  monastic  orders  seems  to 
justify. 

If  the  presumption  would  be  too  great  to  make  any  allusion 
from  this  idea  to  the  mysterious  nature  of  Deity,  who,  in  himself, 
has  a  plentitude  of  perfection  and  felicity,  we  may  safely,  and 
must  necessarily,  believe,  that  the  most  exalted  of  all  creatures 
could  not  be  happy  but  in  society. 

Our  pleasures  are  usually  divided  into  corporeal  and  intel- 
lectual, or  mental.  The  pleasures  of  the  mind  are  again  resol 
ved  into  those  of  the  heart  and  affections,  and  those  of  the  un- 
derstanding. Some  of  these  lie  nearer  the  region  of  sense,  and 
others  of  thought  ;  some  seem  to  belong  exclusively  to  the 
body,  others  to  the  mind.  Addison  considers  the  pleasures  of 
the  imagination   as  occupying  a  kind  of  middle  region  between 


173 

the  two  distinct  provinces   of  our  nature,   and  occasionally  de- 
riving auxiliaries  from,   and  communicating  enjoyment  to  both. 

Beside  these,  and  holding  a  higher  and  purer  region,  there  are 
the  pleasures  of  the  understanding.  These  seem  to  lie  wholly  in 
the  province  of  the  intelligent  and  immortal  nature.  What  the 
essence  of  the  soul  is,  we  know  not ;  and  we  can  only  refer  it  to 
the  unknown  nature  and  constitution  of  the  soul,  that  the  percep- 
tion or  discovery  of  truth  should  give  it  pleasure.  But  that  it 
does,  and  that  under  certain  cirumstances,  to  a  very  high  degree, 
no  one  can  doubt.  This,  perhaps,  may  be  among  the  final  causes 
of  the  social  principle. 

Knowledge  is  the  food  of  the  mind  ;  and  in  this,  the  analogy 
between  the  body  and  mind  is  obvious  ;  for,  as  the  sustenance 
and  growth  of  our  corporeal  frame  is  an  object  ulterior  to  all 
the  pleasures  of  the  palate  and  the  gratifications  of  appetite, 
so  knowledge,  while  it  gives  pure  and  exalted  pleasure  to  the 
mind,  expands,  ennobles,  and  raises  it  nearer  the  perfections  of 
more  exalted  natures.  And  there  are  few  topics  more  animat- 
ing and  delightful  than  the  consideration  of  the  means  of  gain- 
ing knowledge  with  which  we  are  partially  furnished  here,  and 
shall  be  more  fully  hereafter.  And  for  this  we  are  principally 
indebted  to  the  gospel,  in  which  life  and  immortality  are  brought 
to  light.  In  our  present  feeble  and  mortal  state,  our  progress 
seems  slow,  and  often  retarded ;  yet  the  grandeur  of  the  sur- 
rounding universe  is  open  before  us  ;  the  volume  of  Revelation 
is  in  our  hands,  and  many  sublime  and  glorious  objects  engage 
our  attention,  and  exalt  our  ideas.  How,  then,  will  it  be  in  the 
spiritual  world,  where  our  faculties  will  be  strong,  acute,  and 
adapted  to  converse  with  spiritual  creatures  of  various  orders,  and 
in  a  language  of  as  much  facility  as  thought  ?  The  ceaseless  ages 
of  immortality  will  bring  amazing  improvement — will  unfold  new 
powers — elicit  new  faculties.  And  then,  the  accumulated  and 
still  growing  felicity  and  grandeur  of  miUions  of  creatures,  in  a 
field  of  operation  as  unlimited  as  immensity  and  eternity,  will 
never  cease  to  open  new  sources  of  knowledge.  But  God  him- 
self—God the  Creator,  the  Saviour,  the  Ruler,  the  Lord  of  all, 
will  be  their  chief  good,  the]  fountain  of  discovery,  instruction,, 
and  happiness. 


173 

The  question  has  been  discussed,  whether  the  city  or  the 
country  be  most  favourable  to  the  progress  of  the  human  mind 
in  knowledge.  A  centre  of  intelligence,  an  assemblage  of  cha- 
racter, frequency  of  intercourse,  and  the  influence  of  wealth 
and  commerce  on  the  arts  and  sciences,  which  in  every  city 
must  be  considerable,  seem  to  give,  at  first  view,  decided  ad" 
vantages  to  the  city.  On  the  other  hand,  the  quiet  of  the  coun- 
try, so  favourable  to  calm  reflection,  the  increased  avidity  of 
the  mind  when  restored  to  its  natural  tension  and  tendencies 
by  the  absence  of  all  disturbing  influences ;  in  short,  the  leisure 
and  silence  peculiar  to  a  region  where  hurry  and  bustle  are  not 
as  fashionable  to  those  who  do  nothing  as  those  who  do  most, 
seem  to  point  out  the  country  as  the  place  for  thought  and  appli- 
cation of  mind. 

Having,  in  the  first  number  of  the  former  series,  adverted  to  se- 
veral useful  and  benevolent  improvements  in  this  city,  but  which 
speak  best  their  own  eulogium  in  the  relief  they  afl^ord  to  thou- 
sands of  sufferers,  I  trust  it  will  not  be  displeasing  to  the  polite 
and  ingenuous  reader  to  reflect,  for  a  moment,  on  the  advantages 
and  incentives  Providence  has  given  this  city  to  improve  in 
every  thing  useful  and  ornamental,  and  particularly  in  know- 
ledge. 

1.  The  commercial  advantages  of  this  city  are  rivalled  by 
none  in  the  new,  and  by  few  in  the  old  world.  Should  the 
grand  Columbian  canal,  intended  to  form  a  communication  be- 
tween this  city  and  the  great  lakes,  be  opened  upon  the  plan 
of  those  enlightened  and  Ciiterprizing  citizens  who  have  made  it 
so  much  the  object  of  their  attention,  this  port  would  ultimately 
surpass,  in  its  advantages,  those  of  Alexandria,  Constantinople, 
or  London.  Indeed,  those  of  London  are  rather  adventitous 
than  natural.  On  this  point,  the  patriotic  reader  will  do  well  to 
consult  the  history  of  Carthage,  of  Athens,  Syracuse,  Venice, 
Genoa,  the  cities  of  ihe  Hanseatic  League — I  mean  Antwerp, 
Bruges,  and,  in  later  times,  Hamburgh  and  Amsterdam.  Let 
me  here,  once,  and  once  for  all,  implore  the  citizens  of  this 
favoured  city  to  forget  the  jealousies  and  collisions  of  private 
interest  and  national  politics,  and  direct  their  eyes  towards  that 
bright  summit  of  grandeur  and  felicity  which  Providence  has 
15* 


174 

set  within  their  reach,  and  invites  them,  not  by  war  and  conquest 
but  by  virtuous  industry  and  enterprise,  to  ascend. 

A  free  government  and  liberal  policy  point  the  way.  It  is 
not  the  design  of  government  to  create  enterprise,  to  set  peo- 
ple at  work,  or  to  pay  them  when  the  work  is  done.  All 
that  is  desired  in  government  is  to  clear  the  way  for  the  lauda- 
ble efforts  and  operations  of  the  enterprising  and  well-disposed ; 
to  repress  the  intrusions  and  infractions  of  dishonesty,  and  to 
honour  those  who  do  well  for  themselves  and  the  public.  In 
these  important  respects  we  are  favoured  beyond  any  nation 
that  ever  existed.  There  are,  indeed,  various  ways  in  which 
government  may  smile  on  industry,  and  toucli  the  wheels  and 
springs  of  enterprise,  but  that  may  be  esteemed  the  wisest 
course  of  legislation  which,  on  the  whole,  gives  property  the 
most  security,  presents  the  fewest  embarrassments  to  private 
enterprise,  and  tlie  strongest  incentives  to  industry  in  the  whole 
population  of  a  country.  With  such  a  government  we  are  fa- 
voured. 

3.  The  local  and  political  advantages  of  this  city  are  jiobly 
illustrated,  and  speak  for  themselves.  What  was,  fifty  years 
ago,  little  more  than  a  considerable  village,  is  now  iu  the  second 
rank  of  cities  on  the  globe,  with  a  population  of  an  hundred 
thousand  people,  rising  in  commerce,  respectnble  for  wealth, 
distinguished  for  industry,  and  not  wanting  in  public  order.  It 
must  be  admitted,  that  a  more  general  spirit  of  improvement  in 
the  liberal  arts,  and  in  useful  knowledge,  would  raise  the 
character,  and  prom;  te  the  prosperity,  of  the  city.  I  do  not 
make  this  remark  without  recollecting  the  respectable  progress 
already  made  by  associations  of  gentlemen  M'ith  this  truly 
noble  and  patriotic  end  in  view.  The  societies  for  promoting 
literature,  the  arts,  and  the  various  branches  of  professional  and 
general  knowledge,  in  this  rising  and  prosperous  city,  cannot 
be  viewed  but  as  objects  of  the  highest  public  interest.  These 
institutions,  however,  it  shoi;ld  always  be  remembered,  derive 
the  surest  guarantee  from  an  enlightened  and  intelligent  communi- 
nity,  on  which  they  rest  as  their  firmest  basis.  Without  this, 
with  whatever  spirit  they  may  originate,  by  whatever  force  of  ge- 
nius they  may  commence,  there  can  be  little  promise  of  their 
perpetuity,  much  less  of  their  future  eminence. 


175 

4.  The  sources  of  intelligence,  instruction,  and  improvement, 
are  already  become  numerous,  diversified,  and  great.  A  com- 
merciiil  intercourse  with  polite  nations,  and  with  all  parts  of  the 
globe,  Hicilitates  the  pursuits  of  the  philosopher,  the  inquirer, 
and  the  man  of  taste  and  letters.  True,  indeed,  the  want  of 
property  in  some  that  have  taste,  and  the  want  of  taste  in  others 
that  have  property,  diminish  the  advantages  that  might  other- 
wise flow  from  this  grand  scale  of  communication.  Yet  these 
circumstances,  whose  union  is  so  important,  will  sometimes 
unite ;  and  where  they  do  not,  the  defect  must  be  remedied  by 
industry.  But  the  territories  of  the  United  States,  embracing 
so  important  a  section  of  an  entire  continent,  and  so  copious  a 
variety  of  natural  productions,  comprise  of  themselves  a  world 
of  knowledge  still  to  be  explored,  point  to  great  and  various 
enterprises  which  still  sleep  in  the  womb  of  futurity,  and,  I  trust, 
to  various  forms  and  grades  of  illustrious  characters,  still  to  rise 
and  adorn  this  youthful  nation. 

5.  From  these  advantages  others  have  risen,  which,  though 
more  adventitious,  are  not  less  important.  The  professions  of 
law  and  medicine  are  filled  and  supported  by  men  of  eminence ; 
some  of  them  distinguished  by  the  first  literary  honours  of  Eu- 
rope, and  others  whom  any  professional  institution  would  be 
proud  to  claim.  And  if  our  citizens  feel  a  conscious  pride  and 
pleasure  in  the  approbation  which  strangers  o{  taste  and  distinc- 
tion express  of  the  noble  edifice  in  which  our  courts  assemble, 
they  shall  not  feel  less,  when  those  persons  have  visited  the  in- 
terior of  that  building,  and  listened  to  the  eloquence  of  the  bar, 
and  the  wisdom,  dignity,  equity,  and  skill,  of  the  bench  of  justice 
there  held. 

But  all  these,  .md  similar  advantages,  are  evidences  of  one 
great  advantage,  in  which,  perhaps,  this  city  has  been  inferior 
to  none — the  blessings  of  God.  It  has,  indeed,  been  scourged, 
but  with  speedy  returns,  and  signal  indications,  of  divine  favour. 
Pestilence  and  war  have,  at  times,  cast  a  gloom  upon  its  pros- 
pects, and  thinned  its  population ;  but  peace,  and  health,  and 
plenty,  have  soon  returned.  Let  not  the  operation  of  natural 
causes  withdraw  our  attention  from  that  invisible  hand  which 
plants  a  nation,  and  builds  a  city. 


176 

With  these,  and  similar  advantages  for  general  improvement, 
the  incentives  to  that  grand  object  are  surely  no  less  worthy  of 
consideration  ;  and  some  of  them  are  peculiar  to  our  own  coun- 
try, if  not  to  ihis  city. 

1.  Youth  is  a  season  of  ardour,  novelty,  emulation,  and  hope. 
Cities  and  nations,  no  less  than  individuals,  have  their  infancy 
and  youth,  their  manhood  and  dotage,  or  decline.  Nothing 
merely  human,  and  of  a  social  nature,  presents  a  more  interest- 
ing object,  than  a  flourishing  city  wisely  governed,  just  risen  to 
wealth  and  greatness,  and  commencing  a  race  of  glory.  The 
novelty,  the  untried  ground  to  be  passed  over ;  the  discourage- 
ments which  appal  the  feeble,  but  rouse  and  enflame  the  great 
and  generous  spirit ;  the  ardour  and  activity  which  mingle  in  the 
checkered  scene  of  clouds  and  sunshine  ;  the  first  noble  essays 
of  art,  are  thus  beautifully  described  by  the  prince  of  Latin  poets  : 

"  Instant  ardentes  Tyrii ;  pars  ducere  muios 
Molirique  arcem,  et  manibus  subvolvere  saxa  ; 
Pars  aptare  locum  tecto,  et  concludere  sulco. 
Jura  magistratusque  legunt  sanctum  que  Senatum 
His  portus  alii  effodiunt ;   hie  alta  theatris 
Fundamenta  locant  alii ;  immanesque  columnas 
Rupibus  excidunt,  scenis  decora  alta  fuiuris." 

2.  In  addition  to  the  spring  which  novelty  gives  to  early  pros- 
pects and  a  first  attempt,  and  the  ardour  with  which  hope  in- 
spires an  untried  course — principles  of  action  to  which  the  found- 
ers of  new  institutions  are  no  strangers — the  noble  and  patriotic 
feelings  of  our  citizens  have  continually  the  advantage  of  deriv- 
ing a  stimulous  from  a  two-fold  comparison  :  I  mean  with  the 
great  cities  of  the  polished  nations  of  Europe,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  with  the  rival  and  rising  cities  of  our  own  country,  on  the 
other. 

The  gigantic  size  and  antique  structures,  the  enormous  wealth 
and  vast  power  of  London,  that  grand  emporium  of  universal  com- 
merce, upon  a  just  comparison,  will  occasion  no  discouragement, 
but  the  reverse,  when  it  is  considered  that  she  is  what  she  is,  after 
a  race  of  two  thousand  years.  Besides,  in  the  complex  causes  of 
her  elevation,  though  there  is  much  to  admire  and   imitate,  yet 


177 

various  and  powerful  principles  have  there  had  operation,  from 
which  every  friend  of  humanity  ought  to  desire  a  perpetual  ex- 
emption. London  presents  a  stupendous  aggregation  of  wealth, 
intellect,  and  power,  probably,  in  all  respects,  never  equalled, 
though,  in  some  respects,  surpassed,  by  ancient  Rome  ;  yet 
among  all  cities,  both  ancient  and  modern,  perhaps  ancient  Athens 
affords  this  city  the  noblest  model  for  imitation.  Her  free  go- 
vernment, her  amazing  spirit  of  enterprise,  the  general  intelli- 
gence and  good  understanding  of  her  citizens,  the  splendour  of 
her  progress  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  and,  in  fine,  her  public 
spirit,  which,  as  Hobhouse,  a  late  judicious  traveller,  observes, 
enabled  her  to  erect  more  magnificent  works  and  noble  edifices 
than  seemingly  all  the  kingdoms  of  Europe,  combined  could  now 
produce,  show  us  what  one  small  state  can  perform,  and  have 
rendered  her  the  admiration  of  the  world.  In  praise  of  Athens 
it  may  be  said,  that,  though  she  colonised  more,  she  conquered 
less,  than  any  state  of  equal  power  ;  and  her  wars  for  conquest 
were  as  rare  as  her  defence  was  firm  and  terrible  whenever  she 
was  invaded. 

In  regarding  Athens  as  a  model,  we  cannot  refrain  from  the 
melancholy  reflection,  that,  notwithstanding  the  splendour  of 
her  arts  and  sciences,  she  was  deficient  in  the  most  important 
points  of  knowledge — the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  true  religion. 
Of  this  they  seemed  sensible,  by  their  famous  inscription,  To 
THE  UNKNOWN  GoD,  which  St.  Paul  made  the  theme  of  his  elo- 
quent address.  Yet  the  powerful  minds  of  Socrates,  Plato,  Py- 
thagoras, and  others,  whether  from  their  proximity  to  the  foun- 
tain of  revelation,  from  their  general  reading,  or  from  deeper 
causes,  had  many  just  conceptions  of  God,  and  of  the  immorta- 
lity of  the  soul.  Yet  the  illuminations  of  these  great  and  dis- 
tinguished minds,  proved  as  little  to  the  advantage  as  the  credit 
of  Athens.  What  was  the  fate  of  Socrates  ?  He  suff'ered  death 
as  a  martyr  to  the  truth.  The  priests  of  Jupiter  and  Juno  could 
not  bear  the  splendour  and  convictions  of  that  light  which  dis- 
closed the  darkness  and  impurity,  the  madness  and  folly,  of  their 
superstitions.  They  urged  the  populace  to  put  him  to  death.  A 
set  of  priests,  as  I  said,  in  every  nation  under  heaven,  have  al- 
ways resisted   the   progress  of  light,  and  have  been  triangular. 


178 

Athens  was  wanting  in  humanity ;  her  maxims  of  government 
were  generally  cruel,  severe,  and  haughty  ;  and  the  fate  of  many 
of  her  best  and  greatest  men  casts  a  gloomy  shade  upon  her 
character. 

Several  important  cities  will  rise,  and  are  rising,  in  this  coun- 
try ;  but,  from  various  causes,  there  generally  has  been,  and  will 
be,  but  one  first-rate  city  in  a  country  or  nation.  China  and 
Russia  form  the  only  exception  to  this  rule  now  in  my  recol- 
lection. The  former,  from  her  unparalleled  population,  being 
almost  one  continued  city ;  and  the  latter  has,  properly  speak- 
ing, two  capitals ;  one  being  the  seat  of  the  empire,  and  the 
other  the  royal  residence.  The  wealth  and  talents,  and,  conse- 
quently, the  rank  and  splendour  of  a  nation,  will  generally  ulti- 
mately centre  in  one  place.  There  can  be  but  one  London  in 
England  ;  there  could  be  but  one  Rome  in  Europe,  and  but  one 
Athens  in  Greece,  though  there  were  many  independent  states. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  natural  advantages,  the  standard 
will  not  follow  them,  unless  carried  by  the  hands  of  industry  and 
enterprise.  Futurity  alone  can  determine  what  city  shall  eclipse 
the  glory  of  all  others  in  the  union.  Every  one  is  at  liberty  to 
make  his  own  conjectures,  aided  by  the  indication  of  present 
appearances.  But  I  will  venture  to  say,  that  this  eminence  will, 
and  must  rise,  from  the  combination  of  three  ingredients  :  wealth, 
intellect,  and  public  spirit.  Wealth  alone  is  insufficient,  as  we 
may  judge  from  its  effects  on  the  base  and  sordid  miser,  whose 
penuriousness,  if  it  be  not  so  extreme  as  to  deprive  him  of  per- 
sonal comfort  and  gratification,  will,  at  least,  restrict  his  schemes 
and  enterprises  to  his  own  personal  benefit.  Intellect  alone  is 
insufl^cient ;  otherwise,  we  should  see  men  of  the  greatest  talents 
successful  and  excelling  in  business,  and  accumulating  property. 
But  where  greatness  of  mind,  public  spirit,  enterprise  and  wealth 
combine,  the  greatest  effects  are  produced,  as  Carthage,  Athens, 
Rome,  Venice,  and  London,  have  in  succession  evinced. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  wealth,  more  than  knowledge  and 
taste,  has  engaged  the  attention,  and  roused  the  enterprising 
spirits  of  this  city.  I  therefore  cannot  but  hail  with  pleasure 
every  indication  of  the  commencement  of  a  new  era.  Surely 
manv   of  our  citizens   are    in    circumstances    sufficiently  easy  to 


179 

allow  a  division  of  their  attention  between  pecuniary  and  lite- 
rary objects.  There  are  many  others  whose  decided  preponde- 
ration  of  taste  towards  the  latter  object  would  be  sufficient  to 
command  their  attention  and  efforts  undivided.  I  have  recent- 
ly perceived,  with  pleasure,  efforts  making  to  erect  a  forum 
*'  sine  justitim  legisque  terrore^''  as  a  nursery  of  reason  and  elo- 
quence, among  young  men  of  this  city.  I  hope  it  will  be  ren- 
dered respectable  by  talents,  and  by  the  patronage  of  every 
friend  to  literature.  And  when  it  is  recollected  that  the  Ly- 
ceum of  Athens  rose  from  as  small  beginnings,  it  would  not  be 
extravagant  to  hope,  that  a  future  day  may  see  this  city  adorn- 
ed with  an  edifice  where  the  great  masters  of  the  arts  shall 
assemble  with  their  pupils  ;  where  wits,  orators,  and  philoso- 
phers shall  find  apartments  devoted  to  the  exercise  of  their 
several  talents — an  edifice  whose  marble  columns  will  show,  to 
succeeding  ages,  no  less  the  skill  of  some  future  Phidias,  and 
the  munificence  of  a  second  Athens,  than  its  appropriate  de- 
vices and  inscriptions  the  noble  purposes  for  which  it  arose. 

3.  But  the  noblest  incentive  to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge, 
and  a  free  and  ingenuous  inquiry  after  truth,  is  found  in  tho 
satisfaction,  the  security,  the  pleasure,  which  marks  the  progress 
of  such  pursuit,  and  the  distinguished  honour  and  felicity  which 
crown  and  glorify  the  acquisition. 

As  reason  is  given  to  man  for  social  purposes,  and  is  laid  as 
a  pledge  of  inestimable  value,  to  be  redeemed  by  suitable  exer- 
tions, it  is  lamentable  to  perceive  in  what  innumerable  instances 
life  is  but  the  misuse  of  reason.  If  the  ultimate  end  of  living 
were  to  obtain  food  and  raiment ;  if  sensual  enjoyment  were 
man's  ultimate  happiness,  then,  indeed,  the  great  body  of  man- 
kind answer  the  ends  of  their  existence.  But  how  far  is  this 
from  being  the  case  ?  How  little  does  it  accord  with  the  awfully 
interesting  condition  and  amazing  destiny  of  man  !  Placed,  if 
1  may  so  say,  in  the  centre  of  illimitable  space  and  duration  ; 
revolving  with  a  world  of  people  the  annual  circuit  of  heaven  ; 
not  even  without  law  to  himself;  bound  by  various  obligations 
to  those  immediately  around  him,  and  by  the  perfect  and  im- 
mutable obligation  of  the  law  of  God ;  made  capable  of  know- 
ing, serving,  and  glorifying  God ;  destined  to  live  and  be    hap- 


180 

py  or  miserable,  to  all  eternity  :  in  short,  a  sinner  condemn- 
ed, but  for  awhile  reprieved,  and  placed  under  a  dispensation 
of  grace  on  further  probation ;  soon  to  leave  this  world,  and  go 
before  his  great  and  final  Judge  to  receive  his  just  and  eternal 
sentence,  as  the  ground  of  which  all  his  conduct  in  life  is  to  be 
considered.  But  free  pardon  is  offered,  and  a  union  is  proposed 
between  sinful  man  and  his  Creator,  through  the  mediation  of  the 
adorable  Redeemer. 

Can  the  strongest  mind,  the  most  awakened  conception,  rise 
to  the  interest  of  such  concerns  as  these  'i  Who  can  fathom 
their  depth,  or  measure  their  extent  ?  And  do  they  furnish  no 
matter  of  curiosity  to  the  inquisitive  mind  ?  Nothing  sublime 
and  glorious  to  the  most  enlightened  mind  1  Nothing  lovely  and 
desirable  to  the  pure  and  virtuous  mind  ?  Nothing  formidable 
and  alarming  to  every  vicious  and  depraved  mind  ? 

The  future  prospects  of  mankind  are  great,  yet  still  they  have 
a  course  of  present,  immediate  duty  to  perform.  Be  it  that  a 
man  is  going  to  India  to  take  possession  of  a  fortune  there,  he 
may  have  to  learn  the  art  of  navigation,  and  then  conduct  his 
vessel,  with  great  labour  and  hazard,  through  a  long  and  dan- 
gerous voyage,  before  he  enters  on  his  inheritance.  Alas  !  in 
this  deceitful  voyage  of  life  it  is  that  millions  perish,  and  never 
gain  the  region  of  peace. 

Man,  considered  in  a  kind  of  general  and  abstract  sense,  is 
immortal,  even  in  this  life ;  a  consideration  which  hardly  en- 
gages the  attention  of  many  a  devout  and  honest  Christian, 
Human  life  and  existence  are  perpetuated,  not  in  the  same, 
but  in  a  series  of  generations,  which  gives  society  a  perpe- 
tuity which  may  be  called  an  inferior  or  secondary  kind  of 
immortality.  On  this  account  it  is  that  arts  and  sciences,  and, 
indeed,  the  fine  and  elegant  arts,  and  all  branches  of  literature, 
become  necessary.  For  the  same  reason,  it  is  desirable  for 
nations  to  come  up  to  a  common  level  of  general  knowledge  ; 
and,  while  individuals  and  societies  endeavour  to  rise  above  the 
common  level,  and  extend  as  far  as  possible  the  sphere  of  hu- 
man knowledge,  they  serve  as  pioneers,  and  lead  the  way  for 
states  and  nations  to  rise  gradually  to  higher  improvement. 

Yet   tlie   knowledge   of  religious  truth   is  as  much  more  im- 


181 

portant  than  that  of  human  science,  as  the  interests  of  the  soul 
are  greater  than  those  of  the  body.  Every  object  which  en- 
larges the  mind,  and  invigorates  the  faculties,  ennobles  and  exalt? 
our  nature  ;  and  such  especially  is  the  knowledge  of  our  Cre- 
ator. 

A  due  attention  to  our  duty  and  obligations  to  God,  who  is 
to  be  the  eternal  and  infinite  source  of  all  our  enjoyments, 
will  prevent  our  making  false  estimates  of  happiness,  and  im- 
bibing false  notions  of  honour.  His  blessing  alone  can  confer 
happiness ;  His  approbation  alone  is  the  true  test  of  honour. 
And,  since  I  have  arrived  at  this  observation,  let  me  ask  the 
brave  and  chivalrous  spirit,  who,  dazzled  with  false  honour,  is 
ready  to  associate  every  form  of  danger  with  glory,  whether  a 
knowledge  of  the  truths  and  sanctions  of  religion  would  not 
convince  a  man  that  God  had  not  given  him  life  to  surrender 
it,  deliberately,  to  the  furious  miscreant  who  might  demand  it,  or 
require  him  to  expose  it  in  single  combat. 

The  fields  of  truth  are  wide  ;  they  smile  in  perpetual  verdure  ; 
are  covered  with  ever  blooming  flowers,  and  lightened  with 
eternal  glory.  They  invite,  solicit,  and  allure  the  immortal 
mind's  most  noble  powers  to  explore  them — to  begin  that  ex- 
alted and  delightful  employment  which  shall  never  end.  Is 
there  not  danger  that  we  shall  hereafter  regret  our  negligence, 
in  suffering  our  minds  to  be  overrun  with  errors,  when  the 
means  of  information  were  near  us  ?  Is  there  no  danger  lest 
a  price  so  invaluable  should  be  put  into  our  hands,  to  get  wis- 
dom, but  to  be  treated  with  neglect,  because  we  have  no  heart 
to  improve  it  ?  He  who  best  secures  the  interest  of  futurity,  lays 
the  broadest  foundation  for  present  happiness,  since  both  are 
accomplished  by  a  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  God  requires. 

From  the  view  we  have  taken  of  our  advantages  and  incen- 
tives to  acquire  knowledge,  it  appears  that  they  are  not  only  in 
all  respects  great,  but  in  some  respects  peculiar.  But  we  seem 
so  constituted,  or  so  perverse,  as  not  to  be  able  to  prize  ad- 
vantages which  are  common  and  permanent,  nor  to  feel  incen- 
tives whose  operation  is  general.  We  seem  unable  to  realize 
that  a  noble  action  is  as  noble,  though  done  in  an  obscure 
hamlet,  as  if  done  at  the  grand  Olympic  celebration.  The 
16 


182 

charm  of  doing  nobly,  is  too  often  derived  from  the  considera- 
tion that  it  is  seen,  and  admired,  and  praised.  Yet  who  is  not 
delighted  and  inspired  with  veneration  at  that  heroic  virtue, 
that  invincible  fortitude,  which  endured,  silently  and  alone,  or 
acted  where  there  was  none  to  praise  or  record  it  ?  or,  perhaps, 
much  more  so,  where  every  eye  beheld  it  with  contempt,  and 
every  voice  loaded  it  with  reproach. 

Though  the  condition  of  human  life  furnishes  but  few  oc- 
casions to  develop  the  character  of  a  Solon,  a  Leonidas,  a 
Matthias,  or  a  Washington,  it  furnishes  constant  occasion  for 
equal  virtues  ;  nay,  for  the  same  virtues,  though  moulded  by 
different  events.  The  human  family,  truly  vast,  may  be  regard- 
ed as  disposed  into  two  grand  divisions  ;  the  one  inhabiting  this 
world,  the  other  the  world  of  spirits.  Though  this  world  is 
peopled  anew  once  in  about  a  century,  and  substantially  so 
once  in  thirty  years,  yet  it  is  permanently  occupied  by  eight 
hundred  millions  of  people  ;  which  permanency,  as  I  said  above, 
gives  society  an  inferior  kind  of  immortality  :  and  as  to  all  the 
grand  purposes  of  society — as  to  art,  science,  morals,  govern- 
ment, rehgion,  manners  and  customs,  it  is  virtually  the  same  as 
though  this  permanency  were  maintained  by  the  same  persons, 
instead  of  a  series  of  generations.  The  conduct  of  some  men 
influences  the  condition  and  happiness  of  great  portions  of  the 
human  family ;  and  the  conduct  of  every  person  exerts  an  in- 
fluence, to  a  surprising  extent,  on  others.  These  influences  go  by 
currents  and  tides ;  and  a  nation  is  compared  to  great  waters  : 
immense  masses  of  opinion,  prejudice,  sentiment,  passion,  and 
intellect,  are  sometimes  put  into  motion,  from  a  cause  or  causes 
which  infinite  wisdom  alone  can  trace  ;  but  does,  in  fact,  trace, 
and,  with  an  all-discerning  and  discriminating  equity,  fixes  the 
responsibility  where,  perhaps,  no  mortal  mind  would  suspect. 

The  certainty  of  an  all-seeing  Providence,  and  of  man's  future 
and  speedy  accountability  in  another  world,  and  the  perfect  re- 
tribution that  awaits  him  there,  afford  the  highest  encourage- 
ment to  good  and  virtuous  actions.  Let  no  one  fear  lest  what 
he  does  should  pass  unknown  ;  for  if  well  done,  a  higher  plaudit 
awaits  him  than  did  the  conquerors  at  the  Olympic  race  ;  a 
more  brilliant   assembly  shall  hear  his   approbation  pronounced. 


183 

not  by  the  herald  of  the  ceremoay,  but  by  the  voice  of  God  ; 
and  he  shall  be  crowned,  not  with  fading  laurel,  but  with  im- 
mortal  honour. 

But  how  great  and  fatal  is  their  mistake,  who,  while  living 
here  on  dreams  of  future  happiness  ;  while  their  pride  and  vanity 
are  bloated  with  the  idea,  that  they  are  the  favourites  of  heaven, 
are  constant  worshippers  at  the  shrine  of  selfishness,  and  live  only 
for  themselves !  That  august  being,  in  whom  the  whole  family 
in  heaven  and  earth  is  named,  regards  his  creatures  here.  The 
welfare  of  his  terrestrial  family  is  ever  before  him,  not  less,  being 
successive,  than  as  though  it  were  permanent.  And  that  man 
who  is  the  honoured  instrument  of  doing  good  to  men,  of  pro- 
moting the  welfare  of  a  nation,  or  a  state,  or  a  city,  faintly  sha- 
dows forth  the  beneficient  Father  of  all. 

Allow  me,  then,  with  deference,  but  with  freedom,  to  address 
these  considerations  to  the  wealthy,  the  learned,  and  the  patri- 
otic ;  to  those  whose  enlightened  views  may  enable  them  to 
discern  the  means  of  advancing  the  city  ;  whose  liberal  fortune 
clothes  them  with  the  power,  and  entitles  them  to  a  voice  ;  and 
whose  still  more  liberal  feelings  would  find  their  highest  gratifi- 
cation in  so  grand  an  object.  But  why  do  I  speak  of  liberal 
fortune,  since  a  nation's  noblest  enterprises  are  generally  prior 
to  the  era  of  wealth.  The  Roman  capital  was  built,  which,  says 
Livy,  "  subsequent  ages  might  adorn,  but  could  add  nothing  to 
her  grandeur,"  while  the  territories  of  Rome  were  not  twenty 
miles  square  ;  and  the  temple  of  Olympian  Jupiter,  the  magni- 
ficience  of  which  nothing  on  earth  now  equals,  was  built  by  the 
commonwealth  of  Elis,  probably  smaller  than  a  county  of  this 
state.  Whatever  advantages  there  might  be  in  promoting  the 
exterior  splendour  of  the  city,  and  they  are  numerous,  as  orna- 
ment, when  not  at  the  expense  of  morals,  improves  and  gratifies 
taste,  and  is  agreeable  to  nature ;  yet  the  erection  of  towers,  pa- 
laces, and  monuments,  must  be  left  to  the  impetus  of  great  oc- 
casions. But  if  the  most  rational  origin  of  monuments  is  ad- 
mitted to  be  the  honour  due  to  the  memory  of  departed  worth, 
our  citizens  seem  furnished  with  an  opportunity,  and  a  motive, 
to  bestow  that  honour,  at  least  in  one  case,  which  skrinks  from 
no  comparison* 


184 

But  there  is  a  species  of  improvement  attainable  at  less  ex- 
pense than  that  of  external  magnificence,  and  which  promises 
more  solid  and  permanent  glory.  Athens,  which  of  all  cities, 
ancient  or  modern,  presents  us  the  fairest  model,  in  her  govern- 
ment, politics,  and  commercial  character,  acquired  more  fame 
and  honour  from  her  arts  and  sciences  than  from  her  splendid 
temples  and  monuments.  Her  lofty  ruins,  indeed,  which,  after 
the  desolations  of  two  thousand  years,  astonish  the  world,  are 
but  the  remnants  of  her  arts  and  public  spirit.  She  was  the  in- 
structress of  Rome ;  and  the  revival  of  letters,  after  the  night  of 
Gothic  darkness,  was  but  the  resurrection  of  her  arts  and  sciences. 

To  raise  higher  the  standard  of  knowledge  in  a  city,  or  nation, 
is,  in  effect,  to  increase  the  sum  of  intellect,  and  the  fault  is  not 
in  knowledge,  or  its  promoters,  if  it  do  not  increase  the  sum  of 
human  happiness.  But  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  work 
is  seldom  the  task  of  few,  much  less  can  it  be  effected  by  one. 
Like  the  temple  of  Ephesus,  its  foundations  are  laid  by  one  ge- 
neration, its  superstructure  carried  up  by  another,  and  its  deco- 
rations  finished   by    a  third. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  II. 

Knowledge  is,  like  the  light  of  heaven,  free,  pure,  pleasan  t, 
and  exhaustless.  It  invites  to  possession,  but  admits  of  no  pre- 
emption, no  rights  exclusive,  no  monopoly.  It  is  not  like 
wealth,  of  which  one  may  deprive  another — like  honor,  which 
the  breath  of  envy  may  blast — like  power,  which  superior  pow- 
er may  overcome.  The  rational  understanding  being  formed 
to  acquire  and  treasure  up  knowledge,  is  thereby  made  capable 
of  endless  enlargement,  and  the  objects  of  knowledge  are  ex- 
tended through  infinite  space  and  eternal  duration.  The  value 
of  gold  is  but  comparative  ;  therefore,  as  its  quantity  increases 
its  value   diminishes  ;  but   knowledge  has     an   absolute  value  ; 


185 

wherefore,  if  all  men  had  the  knowledge  of  Newton,  its  value 
would  not  be  lessened.  If  every  rational  creature  were  made 
equal  in  knowledge  to  the  highest  angel,  by  how  much  more 
just  were  his  conceptions  of  God,  his  character,  and  perfections, 
by  so  much  more  would  he  be  sensible  of  his  own  weakness  and 
ignorance. 

There  seems  to  be  but  one  trait  in  the  human  character  more 
surprising,  or  a  greater  proof  of  depravity,  than  the  indifference 
of  most  people  relative  to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge;  espe- 
cially, the  knowledge  of  God.  Where  do  they  expect  to  go 
when  they  leave  this  world  1  Into  whose  hands  will  they  fall  ? 
What  do  they  expect  or  hope  to  be  employed  about,  to  all  eter- 
nity ?  Who  is  to  find  them  a  place  of  residence,  and  supply 
their  wants  ?  Can  it  but  occur  to  them,  that  their  happiness 
must  be  inseparably  connected  with  the  friendship  and  appro- 
bation of  their  Creator  and  Preserver  ?  Can  they  avoid  believ- 
ing that  God  approves  of  some  characters,  and  disapproves  of 
others  ? 

But,  however  absurd  their  opinions,  or  groundless  their  ex- 
pectations may  be,  and  on  whatever  false  security  they  may 
rest,  why  should  they  wish  to  deprive  others  of  the  light  of 
truth  ?  Why  stop  the  progress  of  inquiry,  and  cut  off  the 
sources  of  information  ?  Why  seal  up  the  eyes  of  thousands 
in  darkness,  and  consign  them  to  ignorance,  till  the  light  of  the 
coming  world  shall  break  upon  them  with  awful  terror  and 
utter  disappointment  ? 

This  has  been  the  grand  and  favourite  object  of  a  very  nume- 
rous class  of  men  in  every  age  and  nation.  And,  as  I  said,  is 
a  more  surprising  trait  of  character,  a  proof  of  deeper  depravity, 
than  the  indifference  of  men  to  truth,  on  their  own  account.  I 
do  not  take  up  this  subject  merely  as  matter  of  philosophical 
speculation — I  do  it  because  the  evil  which  it  envolves  impends 
this  city.  Resistance  to  free  inquiry,  and  the  progress  of  that 
light  and  conviction  which  ever  follows  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  has  long  been  maintained  and  carried  on  with  incredible 
vigilance  and  perseverance:  I  wish  I  were  not  constrained  to 
say,  with  success  bordering  on  triumph. 

There  has  never  been  wanting  to   any  nation,  elevated  in  a 
16* 


186 

considerable  degree  above  the  savage  state,  in  knowledge  and 
refinement,  a  class  of  men  whose  grand  aim  has  been  to  pre- 
vent the  progress  of  truth,  and  'obstruct  all  free  inquiry.  They 
seem  to  envy  mankind  the  right  and  privilege  of  thinking  for 
themselves.  As  they  arrogate  to  themselves  the  dignity  of 
being  the  sole  arbiters  of  religious  controversy,  they  resort  to 
the  unost  summary  method,  which  is,  to  bind  up  people's  eyes, 
and  keep  them  in  total  ignorance  ;  and  in  that  way  are  guilty 
of  the  most  cruel,  destructive,  and  atrocious  invasion  of  human 
rights  and  privileges  which  ever  entered  the  conception  of 
man.  The  tyrant  who  enslaves  the  body  does  nothing  in  com- 
parison with  this.  He  may  clothe  his  captive  in  chains,  and  lay 
him  low  in  a  dungeon ;  but  the  soul,  freer  than  air,  more  rapid 
than  light,  regards  no  chains,  is  limited  to  no  dungeons. 

"  The  thoughts,  that  wander  thro'  eternity," 

defy  all  bolts  and  bars ;  over  its  volitions  monarchs  have  no 
power ;  its  desires  can  wing  their  way  to  heaven,  and  its  inter- 
nal operations  mock  at  all  created  force. 

Such  are  the  soul's  inborn  powers  and  native  freedom — nay, 
more,  it  can  soar  above  all  outward  forms  of  danger,  can  tri- 
umph over  death  and  the  grave,  and  looks  forward  upon  eter- 
nity as  its  own. 

Happy  would  it  be  for  mankind  did  every  soul  know  its  pow- 
er, and  enjoy  its  freedom  ;  feel  its  dignity,  and  appreciate  its  pri- 
vilege !  But  who  could  imagine  that  one  man  could  enslave 
the  soul  of  another  ?  There  is  a  keener  ambition  than  that 
which  aims  to  controul  our  external  freedom  ;  an  ambition  to 
enslave  and  bind  fast  in  fetters  the  immortal  inteUigence  within 
us  ;  an  ambition  to  direct  our  thoughts,  opinions,  volitions,  and 
faith  ;  an  ambition  to  interfere  between  the  soul  of  man  and  his 
God  ;  to  estrange  the  soul  for  ever  from  the  fountain  of  light  and 
glory. 

It  is  almost  too  painful  and  humiliating  to  be  spoken — but,  since 
it  is  a  truth  which  the  day  of  God  will  make  manifest  before  all 
creatures,  it  cannot  be  concealed,  that  a  set  of  men,  who  claim  to 
be  ministers  of  religion,  have,  in  every  part  of  the  world,  and  in 


187 

every  age,  been  the  agents  and  instrments  in  this  horrid  work. 
They  have  set  themselves  up  as  the  lords,  or,  rather,  the  tyrants, 
of  men's  consciences  ;  and  on  a  reputation  for  holiness,  under  the 
garb  of  hypocrisy,  have  built  up  a  system  of  tyranny  and  re- 
ligious oppression,  in  comparison  with  which,  all  temporal  ty- 
rannies and  usurpations  seem  perfect  freedom.  The  ministers 
of  religion  have  not  all  been  of  this  description ;  God  has  ne- 
ver been  without  true  and  faithful  witnesses  to  maintain  his 
truth,  and  honour  his  name.  But  when  Elijah  was  the  only 
prophet  of  the  Lord  in  Israel,  there  were  four  hundred  pro- 
phets of  Baal,  and  four  hundred  prophets  of  the  groves. 

When  the  sun  of  righteousness  rose  upon  the  world,  and  the 
gospel  kingdom  was  established,  whose  foundations  had  been 
laid  of  old,  could  it  have  been  imagined  that  the  meek  and  holy, 
the  pure  and  peaceful,  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  would  be  trans- 
formed into  the  bloodiest  and  most  monstrous  system  of  tyran- 
ny ever  seen  on  the  earth  ?  That  the  corruption,  cruelty,  and 
crimes  of  Rome  Heathen,  would  be  thrown  into  the  shade,  and 
scarcely  remembered,  in  comparison  with  the  surpassing  and 
incomparable  wickedness  of  Rome  Christian  ?  It  was  so :  and 
this  march  of  wickedness  began  by  binding  the  conscience,  and 
resisting  the  progress  and  the  happy  results  of  free  inquiry. 
When  it  was  perceived  by  worldly  men  that  the  Church,  to  use 
a  common  phrase,  was  become  an  object  of  ambition,  they  pour- 
ed into  it  ill  swarms,  like  the  locusts  that  plagued  Egypt ;  and 
the  gospel,  whose  genuine  spirit  was  perfect  meekness,  peace, 
and  love,  was,  by  degrees,  perverted,  and  heard  to  speak  the 
language  of  pride,  haughtiness,  and  revenge.  These  proud  and 
selfish  spiritual  tyrants  could  not  rest ;  rites  and  ceremonies, 
pomp  and  splendour,  grew  apace,  and  what  was  at  the  bottom 
of  it  all  was,  that  all  right  of  private  judgment  and  free  in- 
quiry was  suppressed,  and  every  man  must  tamely  and  silently 
submit  his  opinions  and  his  conscience  to  these  spiritual  guides, 
who  were,  generally,  as  ignorant  as  they  were  impudent. 

The  abominable  and  ridiculous  claim  to  infallibility  was  the 
last  step  ;  which  was  but  the  full  surrender  of  the  opinions  and 
faith  of  all  the  world  to  one  lordly  and  ridiculous  wretch,  more 
worthy  of  Haman's  gallows  than  of  a  triple  crown. 


188 

But,  reader,  there  is  a  tincture  of  this  extravagant  claim  visi- 
ble in  our  days ;  indeed,  every  where  visible  where  you  find 
a  little  spiritual  tyrant.  The  Reformation  did  not  cure  this 
enormous  pride  ;  and  the  reformers  themselves,  as  soon  as  they 
had  doubled  the  cape,  began  to  lay  their  course  back  again 
from  whence  they  started.  Nothing  is  more  difficult  than  for 
a  man,  stiff  with  spiritual  pride,  and  full  of  the  idea  of  his  own 
importance,  to  believe,  that  a  people  are  entitled  to  think  for 
themselves.  The  reformed  churches,  at  first,  all  started  from 
this  ground,  and  fell  with  fury  to  persecuting  heretics ;  and 
where  people  were  not  willing  to  be  converted,  the  zeal  of  their 
spiritual  guides  was  promptly  seconded  by  the  civil  magistrate, 
using  fines,  imprisonment,  confiscation,  banishment,  and  death, 
as  hopeful  means  of  convicting  the  sinner,  and  purifying  the 
Church. — I,  therefore,  said,  the  Reformation  was  incomplete. 

0,  how  unlike  the  gospel !  How  abhorrent  from  the  spirit  of 
Christ !  And  though  it  surely  will  not  be  denied,  that  the  power 
was  generally  in  the  hands  of  better  men,  yet  those  persecuting 
churches  were,  in  the  sight  of  Heaven,  as  truly  ecclesiastical 
tyrannies  as  the  church  of  Rome.  The  homage  paid  by  many 
in  this  country  to  those  churches,  in  connexion  with  the  spirit 
and  temper  they  evince,  shows,  but  too  plainly,  in  what  re- 
spects they  desire  to  see  those  times  restored.  Yes,  when  they 
see  Calvin  assembling  the  people  of  Geneva,  and  imposing  upon 
them  a  religious  test,  causing  them  to  swear  to  maintain  his 
doctrine,  and  forms  of  church  order  and  worship,  their  eyes, 
no  doubt,  fail  with  longing  to  see  this  city  encircled  with  the 
same   hopeful  barriers  against  error  and  innovation. 

These  men  have  lately  set  themselves  up  as  the  exclusive  ad- 
mirers and  disciples  of  the  reformers.  One  of  them  closed  a 
statement  of  the  affairs  of  his  church,  for  the  last  year,  before 
the  late  synod  held  in  this  city,  by  declaring,  in  a  very  pom- 
pous manner,  that  his  people  had  been  hearing  "  the  doc- 
trines OF  THE  Reformation."  Did  he  mean,  by  the  doctrines 
of  the  Reformation,  the  doctrine  which  Luther  preached .?  No. 
Yet  Luther's  doctrine  was  certainly  a  doctrine  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. Did  he  mean  the  doctrines  which  Melancthon  preached  ? 
No,     Did  he  mean  the  doctrine  of  the  English,  or  French  re- 


189 

formers !  No  :  for  among  all  these,  as  to  the  points  in  contro- 
versy in  this  city,  there  was  great  diversity,  and  they  were  gene- 
rally against  him.  Did  he  mean  the  doctrines  which  Calvin 
preached?  Hardly:  for  Calvin  did  not  teach  the  doctrine  of 
original  sin,  as  some  now  preach  it.  And  1  ask  that  man,  or 
any  man,  to  show  the  public  where  Calvin  taught  a  limited 
atonement  All  that  is  nothing  ;  there  was  a  hook  in  that  pious 
declaration,  which  many  an  honest  fish  greedily  swallowed  ;  it 
was  a  hoax,  and  deserves  no  better  name ;  and  that,  one  of  the 
lowest  and  basest  kind.  Who  does  not  preach  the  doctrines  of 
the  Reformation  ?  It  is  a  term  of  no  definite  meaning,  but 
calculated  to  mislead  the  ignorant  and  the  simple.  The  re- 
formers were  not  agreed  in  doctrine.  Calvin  was  scarcely 
known  in  the  group  of  the  first  reformers,  and  to  such  of  them 
as  he  was  known,  his  particular  notions  of  predestination  and 
grace  were  generally  offensive,  however  correct  they  might  be  in 
themselves. 

The  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  is  regarded  by  the 
protestant  part  of  Christendom  as  a  grand  event — an  event  in 
which  many  millions  of  people  take  a  deep  interest.  What 
member  of  the  church  of  England,  or  Scotland,  or  Holland,  or 
of  all  the  protestant  Germanic  provinces,  or  of  the  protestants 
in  France,  or  America,  is  there,  who  does  not  regard  the  Refor- 
mation as  a  glorious  era  in  the  Christian  Church  ?  Yet  each  one 
of  this  immense  mass  of  people,  who  have  the  means  of  infor- 
mation, view  the  reformers,  and  their  doctrines,  not  without  dis- 
crimination. They  see  much  to  admire  and  revere,  and  much 
left, 'as  the  work  of  subsequent  reformations. 

But,  people  of  New- York,  there  has  been  another  reforma- 
tion ;  a  reformation  in  our  days,  in  which  we  have  a  deeper  in- 
terest ;  a  reformation  not  less  extraordinary  in  its  nature,  or 
glorious  in  its  consequences  :  We  have  seen  a  nation  rise  into 
a  state  of  perfect  freedom  and  civil  liberty.  Even  this  event, 
and  going  no  farther,  is  beyond  all  parallel  in  history.  There 
is  a  marked  providence  even  here,  which  I  fear  many,  calling 
themselves  Christians,  have  not  regarded  with  the  attention  it 
demands,  nor  the  pleasure  that  might  be  expected.  Is  it 
nothing  that,  from  the  discordant  chaos  of  European  aristocracy 


190 

and  despotism,  a  government  should  spring  up  in  the  new  world, 
founded  in  all  the  essential  rights,  and  guarding  all  the  rights 
of  man  ?  Is  it  not  worthy  of  notice,  that  thirteen  independent 
states  should  amicably  unite  in  this  grand  project  ?  Was  there 
any  thing  like   it  in   ancient  Greece — was  there  ever  a  parallel  ? 

But  it  is  said,  in  reply,  that  this  was  all  a  civil  or  political 
transaction.  Be  it  so :  and  was  there  nothing  civil  or  political 
in  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  ?  What  severed 
England  and  Scotland  from  the  Roman  see  ?  Doubtless,  the 
most  ambitious  prince  and  greatest  tyrant  that  ever  filled  the 
British  throne  began  that  work.  And  Germany  was  more  re- 
formed by  states  than  by  individuals.  In  fact,  the  Reformation 
consisted  externally  in  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  the  Roman 
pontiflf;  which,  partly  by  spiritual,  and  partly  by  temporal 
claims,  he  had  fastened  on  the  most  powerful  states  in  Europe, 
and  had,  for  ages,  maintained  by  the  sword ;  by  which  all  ty- 
rants maintain  their  dominion.  It  was,  in  a  great  degree,  a  po- 
litical revolution. 

But  has  this  country  witnessed  nothing  but  a  political  revolu- 
tion ?  Has  not  a  phenomenon  marked  that  revolution  which 
indicates  juster  notions  of  religion,  and  of  the  true  character  of 
Christ's  church,  than  were  entertained  by  Luther,  Melancthon, 
or  Calvin — by  Knox,  Cranmer,  or  Ridley  ? — or,  I  add,  by  any,  or 
all,  the  reformers  put  together?  By  some  surprising  influence, 
the  American  people,  when  severed  from  the  British  empire, 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  grand  truth,  that  all  men  are  na- 
turally free,  and  have  equal  rights  ;  among  which  liberty  of  con- 
science, and  the  right  of  inquiring  after  truth,  and  worshipping 
God,  are  the  first.  Connected  with  this,  another  truth  of  equal 
importance  was  discovered,  viz.  that  the  church  of  Christ,  being 
a  spiritual  body,  has  no  right  to  enforce  her  censures  by  temporal 
penalties,  or  by  the  arm  of  civil  power. 

Here,  reader,  perished,  not  only  the  first,  but  the  last,  the 
greatest,  the  grandest,  pillars  of  popery.  Or,  to  vary  the  figure, 
"  the  tree  whose  height  reached  unto  heaven,  and  the  sight 
thereof  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  had  been,  indeed,  cut  down 
by  the  "  watcher ;"  but,  in  the  language  of  the  same  prophet^ 
*'  the  stump  of  the  roots  was  left,  with  a  band  of  iron  and  brass, 


191 

in  the  tender  grass  of  the  field."  A  band  of  iron  and  brass  in- 
deed ! — For  notwithstanding  the  greatness  of  the  Reformation, 
latterly  become  so  popular  a  theme,  and  trumpeted  'so  loudly, 
to  withdraw  the  attention  of  mankind  from  a  much  more  recent 
reformation,  what  church,  or  what  nation,  became  so  reformed 
as  to  discover  that  people  have  a  right  to  think  for  themselves  ? 
What  nation  came  out  so  pure  from  this  refining  fire  as  not,  in 
their  turn,  to  erect  the  bloody  standard  of  persecution,  and  fall 
upon  heretics,  i.  e.  all  who  presume  to  diflfer  from  them,  right 
or  wrong,  with  fire  and  faggots  ? 

From  the  foundation  of  the  world,  the  honour,  and  pleasure, 
and  advantage,  of  perfect  civil  and  religious  liberty  has  been  re- 
served for  this  nation.  No  other  nation,  ancient  or  modern, 
savage  or  civilized,  ever  enjoyed  them  both  before.  It  was 
reserved  to  be  discovered  by  the  leaders  in  the  American  refoT' 
mation,  that  a  man  demeaning  himself  peaceably  in  society, 
and  conducting  as  a  good  citizen,  is  accountable  only  to  God 
for  his  religious  opinions.  Should  he  even  chance  to  differ 
from  what  is  called  orthodox,  or  from  the  popular  faith,  he  does 
not  expect  to  be  dragged  before  a  ghostly  Jesuitical  tribunal,  to 
whom  he  must  deliver  up  the  keys  of  his  conscience,  or  be  de- 
livered over  to  the  tormentors.  A  man  in  this  country  is  not 
obliged  to  hurry  away  to  Canada,  the  West  Indies,  New  Spain, 
or  Europe,  a  voluntary  exile,  for  fear  of  suffering  the  fate  of 
a  heretic;  and,  perhaps,  when  arrived  there,  in  hourly  dread 
that  letters  missive  will  reach  the  magistrates,  desiring  them 
to  seize  and  bring  him  to  justice  :  But  for  what  ?  fur  murder, 
arson,  burglary,  or  treason,  no  doubt ! — O  no  !  because  he  is 
"  unsound  in  the  faith  ;"  when,  perhaps,  in  the  sight  of  God,  he 
is  the  Christian,  and  his  persecutors  are  the  heretics.  This, 
reader,  was  the  general  mode  of  proceeding  in  those  delight- 
ful times  which  certain  persons  so  ardently  wish  might  return. 
This  was  then  the  fashion. 

Neither  the  gospel,  nor  the  spirit  of  Christ,  ever  moved  men 
to  persecution:  every  persecutor,  therefore,  of  whatever  de- 
scription, sect,  or  denomination,  is  unsound  both  in  faith  and 
practice,  and  is  no  model  for  an  American. 

The    American  reformers  have  discovered  that  a  nation  is    not 


192 

a  church,  and  that  a  church  cannot  be  a  nation.  They  per- 
ceived that  there  was  an  import  in  our  Saviour's  declaration, 
that  his  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world ;  which,  if  every  king- 
dom be  a  church,  and  every  church  a  kingdom,  can  mean  no- 
thing. And  it  is  a  fact,  of  which  I  have  no  doubt,  that  next 
to  downright  persecution,  the  greatest  injury  any  government 
can  do  a  church  is  to  establish  it  bylaw,  that  its  decisions  and 
censures  shall  be  enforced  by  civil  penalties ;  it  renders  it  "  the 
stump  of  the  roots"  in  earnest,  "  with  a  band  of  iron  and  brass." 
But,  to  the  confusion  and  discomfiture  of  every  religious  ty- 
rant, the  band  of  iron  and  brass  is  broken,  and  the  stump  of 
the  roots  is  dug  up,  in  this  country,  favoured  of  heaven  above  all 
others.  To  this  it  is  owing  that  we  see  every  man  resorting  to 
the  place  of  worship  he  may  prefer,  and  adoring  the  Supreme 
Ruler  in  such  modes  and  forms  as  his  conscience  may  dictate. 
To  this  it  is  owing  that  we  see  no  stern  and  haughty  lords  of 
conscience  hurling  the  censures  of  the  church  at  one  and  at 
another,  with  a  servile  set  of  syndics  and  magistrates  at  their 
elbow,  and  a  still  more  servile  gang  of  delators  at  their  heels, 
to  point  his  vengeance,  expecting,  at  least,  to  purchase  heaven 
by  gratifying  the  holy  malice  and  bigotted  pride  of  a  spiritual 
judge.  To  this,  in  a  word,  it  is  owing  that  our  country  is  not, 
at  this  instant,  torn  with  religious  fury  and  persecution  ;  for,  I 
call  heaven  to  witness,  that  a  stronger  propensity  to  that  hor- 
rid business  was   never  visible  at  any  time  or  place. 

I  said,  in  a  former  series,  that  these  people  had  forgot  the 
age  in  which  they  live,  by  three  hundred  years.  They  seem 
not  apprised  of  the  grand  events  of  our  times,  which  have  bro- 
ken the  slumbers  of  six  thousand  years.  Soothed  in  the  lap  of 
spiritual  pride,  by  the  cordial  flattery  of  minions  whom  they 
have  trained  to  their  hands,  their  eyes  are  covered  with  scales, 
and  they  are  strangers  to  the  sublime  and  awful  providence 
which  moves  before  us,  and  has  lifted  our  country  above  all 
nations  in  her  civil  freedom  and  religious  order.  They  are 
ever  restless  under  these  events ;  they  wish  for  the  restoration 
of  the  reign  of  bigotry,  and  that  the  sun,  broke  forth  on  this 
happy  nation,  would  return  into  those  clouds  which  covered 
him  for  ages.     As  for  this  country,  there  has  been  no   reforma- 


193 

tion,  no  increase  of  knowledge,  no  new  light,  no  religious  ad- 
vantages. They  would  esteem  the  restoration  of  the  jargon  of 
school  logic,  the  sublime  mysticism  of  peripatetic  philosophy,  and 
the  principles  of  religious  intolerance,  a  glorious  event ;  that  is,  if 
their  conduct  and  feelings  are  of  a  piece.  For  it  must  be  admitted 
that  those  were  fine  times  for  ecclesiastical  lords  and  tyrants  of 
every  grade. 

In  the  mean  time,  they  desire  no  reformation — no  change  that 
shall  eradicate  any  remaining  fibre  of  "  the  stump  of  the  roots 
with  the  band  of  iron  and  brass."  Every  thing  like  an  increase 
of  light  is  terrible  to  those  whose  glory  depends  on  darkness  ; 
equally  so  is  an  increase  of  liberty  to  those  whose  power  is 
built  on  usurpation.  As  for  the  enlargement  of  their  churches, 
were  they  permitted  to  use  their  favourite  arts,  they  would  im- 
mediately gather  in  all  the  fishes  of  the  deep — even  sharks, 
sword-fish,  and  whales.  They  want  no  reformation  for  that 
purpose.  As  one  of  our  little  Calviniculi  lately  declared,  be- 
fore the  synod,  he  had  had  "  ninety  raexnbers  added  to  his 
church  the  last  year,  though  with  none  of  the  northern  blast  at- 
tending." I  fear  he  might  have  added,  none  of  the  southern  ! 
*'  Awake,  O  north  wind^  and  come  thou  south,  blow  upon  thy 
garden ;"  *'  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,"  said  the  Son 
of  God,  "  and  ye  hear  the  sound  thereof,  &;c.,  so  is  every  one 
that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  That  man  was  unfortunate  in  the 
metaphor  by  which  he  attempted  to  ridicule  the  work  of  God, 
and  I  shall  be  glad  if  his  ignorance  shielded  him  from  the  guilt 
of  blasphemy,  in  that  vain  attempt  to  appear  witty  and  brave. 

The  grand  object  of  these  men  is  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
free  inquiry,  and  to  bring  the  church  back  to  the  ground  it  oc- 
cupied three  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  wretched  dogmas 
of  Aristotle,  and  the  peripatetics,  were  still  conflicting  with  moral 
and  philosophical  theories  little  better  ;  while,  as  yet,  a  ray  of 
light  had  not  broken  into  the  church  relative  to  civil  or  reli- 
gious liberty ;  while  the  very  best  of  the  reformers  had  no  idea 
but  of  following  the  steps  of  Rome,  in  destroying  heretics  by 
fire  and  sword  :  For  surely,  said  they,  if  a  wicked  church  may 
persecute  and  destroy  good  men,  it  is  very  wonderful  if  good 
men,  when  clothed  with  the  authority  of  Christ,  may  not  punish 
17 


194 

and  exterminate  the  wicked  :  in  a  word,  when  a  church  and  a 
nation  were  considered  as  the  same  thing,  and  provision  was 
made  for  rendering  church-membership  and  privileges  heredi- 
tary as  estates  and  titles — the  increase  of  the  church  being  ren- 
dered as  certain  as  that  of  natural  population — as  resting  on  the 
same  footing. 

The  men  whose  scheme  I  have  described  as  triangular  know» 
that  if  people  are  suffered  to  read  and  inquire  freely — if  light 
and  knowledge  prevail,  their  scheme  will  fall  to  the  ground.  It 
will  not  stand  the  test  of  examination ;  it  will  not  endure  the 
licrht  of  evidence ;  it  cannot  subsist  under  a  just  comparison 
with  truth.  And  though  they  look  on  the  interference  of  the 
civil  law,  and  the  arm  of  government  to  crush  inquiry,  as  no 
longer  to  be  expected,  they  are  resorting  to  other  methods  with 
incredible  industry  and  vigilance.  And  I  am  bold  to  say,  that 
there  is  not  a  spot  on  earth  where  greater  pains  have  been  taken 
to  accomplish  that  hopeful  purpose  than  in  this  city. 

I  have  frequently  alluded  to  this  subject  in  former  numbers  : 
I  shall  here  state  some  of  the  methods  used  to  prevent  inquiry, 
and  to  exclude  the  light  and  truth  from  this  city.  I  hope  it  may 
be  read  with  patience,  even  by  those  who  differ  with  me  in  opin- 
ion ;  and  whoever  shall  read  it  with  due  attention,  I  aver  that,  in 
spite  of  prejudice,  they  will  both  see  and  feel  that  the  picture,  in 
some  points,  suits  the  original.     And  I  observe, 

1.  These  pompous  allusions  to  "  the  doctrines  of  the  Refor- 
mation," are  made  with  no  other  purpose,  and  have  no  other  ef- 
fect, than  to  silence  inquiry,  and  strengthen  prejudice.  Ah  ! 
says  one,  "  I  preach  nothing  but  the  glorious  doctrines  of  the 
reformers — I  am  no  innovator — no  Hopkinsian."  Reader,  do 
you  not  see  that  all  this  is  a  priestly  trick  1  For  how  can  the 
people  of  this  city  know  any  thing  about  the  doctrines  of  the 
reformers  1  While  it  fills  their  incautious  minds  with  veneration 
for  a  wonderful  Calviniculus,  it  shuts  iheir  eyes,  and  stops  their 
ears.  Perhaps,  too,  this  declaration  is  made  by  some  green- 
horn tyrant  would-be,  who  knows  no  more  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  reformers  than  of  the  doctrines  taught  on  the  other  side  of 
the  moon.  There  was  one  grand  point  in  which  all  the  re- 
formers agreed,  viz.  in  condemning  the  usurpations  and  corrup- 


195 

tions  of  the  church  of  Rome  : — happy  would  it  have  been  had 
they  rejected  all  those  corruptions ;  but,  as  I  have  said,  they 
as  universally  agreed  in  one  fundamental  error  of  Rome — that 
intolerance  and  bigotry  which  exercises  tyranny  over  the  con- 
sciences of  men.  For,  as  I  said,  this  was  "  tha  stump  of  the 
roots,  with  a  band  of  iron  and  brass,  in  the  tender  grass  of  the 
field."  All  flesh  is  grass  ! — and,  whether  reformed  or  not,  spi- 
ritual despots  generally  find  means  to  bind  that  grass  in  bundles 
to  be  consumed  with  the  rest  of  their  works,  as  wood,  hay,  and 
stubble. 

But  in  the  great  doctrines  of  Christianity,  the  leading  reform- 
ers differed  extremely  and  contended  vehemently.  For  a  man, 
therefore,  at  this  time,  to  say,  "  I  am  no  imiovator — I  preach 
the  doctrines  of  the  reformation,"  is  an  abuse  of  language,  and 
a  gross  insult  to  those  who  may  differ  from  him,  but  could  say 
the  same  that  he  does,  with  as  much  truth,  and  perhaps  more. 
It  is  designed  to  cast  a  mist  before  people's  eyes,  who  have  not 
the  means  of  examining,  and  in  whose  minds  the  names  of  the 
reformers — even  the  very  sound  of  the  phrase,  "  The  Reforma- 
tion," is  associated  with  every  thing  great  and  venerable.  And 
that  man  who  has  brass  and  impudence  enough  to  trump  him- 
self up  as  the  immaculate  disciple  of  the  reformers,  is  regarded 
by  a  credulous  multitude  as  all  made  up  of  sanctity,  truth,  and 
wi  sdom. 

There  is  one  point,  and  but  one,  in  which  these  men  follow 
undeviatingly  the  steps  of  the  reformers,  and  that  is  a  spirit  of 
rigid  intolerance  and  persecution.  It  is  with  reluctance  and  deep 
regret,  that  I  allude  thus  frequently,  and  unpleasantly,  to  the  me- 
mory of  the  reformers  ;  but  since  they  are  laid  as  the  first  step 
in  the  staircase  of  ambition,  it  is  necessary  that  the  truth  should 
be  spoken,  and  the  people  undeceived.  I  admire  and  revere 
the  reformers,  and  have  read  their  lives  with  as  much  pleasure 
as  any  man  living;  but  I  do  not  admire  their  faults  ;  and  I  well 
know  the  spirit  and  maxims  of  the  policy  and  government  of 
those  same  reformers  would  not  be  endured  for  a  day,  "  no, 
not  for  an  hour,"  in  this  country. 

Citizens  of  New-York,  what   would  be  your  feelings,    should 
some  leading  clergyman  in  this  city  acquire  sufficient  influence 


196 

to  cause  the  people  to  be  assembled,  by  legal  authority,  and 
an  oath  exacted  from  them,  to  maintain  the  forms  of  worship 
and  standard  of  doctrine  he  should  prescribe  ;  and  that  every 
one  who  refused,  should  be  utterly  disgraced,  and,  perhaps,  lia- 
ble to    be    banished  ?     Would  you   like    it  ?     Would  you   think 

it  fine  times  ? Thus  did  Calvin  in  Geneva. 

If,  by  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  is  meant,  that  Christ 
died  only  for  the  elect,  that  all  men  deserved  endless  punishment 
for  Adani's  sin,  independent  of  their  own  conduct,  and  that  all 
men,  aside  from  their  inclination,  are  unable  to  obey  God,  the  ex- 
pression is  evidently  and  hugely  false.  These  were  not  the  doc- 
trines of  the  reformers,  or,  at  least,  but  a  very  small  portion  of 
them,  when  compared  with  the  whole.  The  phrase,  at  best, 
is  a  vague  unmeaning  one,  and  derives  its  chief  value  from 
its  effect  on  prejudice  and  ignorance;  and  that  is  the  reason 
why  it  is  adopted  as  a  diplomatic  term  of  trigonism.  The  peo- 
ple borrow  it  from  the  priest,  and  many  as  profound  an  igno- 
ramus as  walks  the  street,  will  be  heard  to  say,  when  he  retires 
from  the  sermon,  "  Ah !  this  is  the  language  of  the  fathers  ;  so 
they  preached  in  the  days  of  the  Reformation." 

It  ought  to  be  the  joy  and  glory  of  an  American  divine 
to  preach  the  doctrines  of  a  much  later  reformation  than  that 
in  Germany ; — doctrines  which  prevail  in  a  nation  whose  re- 
ligious tenets  are  not  shackled  by  "  bands  of  iron  and  brass," 
forged  by  civil  magistrates,  at  the  instigation  of  some  haughty 
pontiff ; — doctrines  which  prevail,  when  it  is  no  longer  thought  a 
miracle  for  a  man  to  rise  above  the  more  than  Babel  confusion 
of  school  logic,  or  the  wonderful  flights  of  peripatetic  philosophy. 
Reader,  is  it  wonderful,  is  it  incredible,  that  the  first  nation 
on  earth  which  has  been  able  to  perceive  the  rights  of  mankind, 
both  civil  and  religious — the  first  nation  since  the  grand  apostacy 
that  has  exonerated  the  church  from  the  alluring  and  destructive 
influence  of  civil  power — the  first  nation  that  has  restored  the 
soul  of  man  to  freedom,  and  invited  him  to  free  inquiry  in  the 
grandest  of  all  concerns — I  say,  is  it  incredible,  that  such  a  na- 
tion should  make  some  progress  in  the  discovery  of  truth? 
Or,  must  we  go  back  to  the  days  of  intolerance,  of  ignorance, 
of  persecution  1  Must  we   go  back  to  the  first    crude  vision   of 


197 

early  twilight,  where  no  shadow  is  distinct,  because  there  is  no 
sunshine,  and  there  fix  the  standard  of  truth,  which  no  sub- 
sequent light  is  to  improve — before  which  all  evidence  is  to  be 
veiled,  and  all  inquiry  to  cease,  for  ever  1 

The  progress  of  light  and  knowledge  in  our  own  country 
is  scoffed  at  and  abused  by  these  men,  it  is  treated  in  a  manner 
which  ought  to  excite  the  pity  and  indignation  of  every  friend 
to  his  country,  and  must  be  regarded  by  Christ  himself  as  the 
blackest  ingratitude. 

This  incessant  driving  back  to  the  days  of  the  reformers,  to 
the  discerning  eye,  fully  developes  their  object.  It  is  to  leave 
the  people  nothing  to  do ;  to  extinguish,  at  one  stroke,  all  in- 
quiry after  truth,  which,  according  to  them,  is  scarcely  to  be 
found  in  any'thing  but  the  barbarous  Latin  folios  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  which  few  of  the  people,  and,  in  fact,  not 
many  of  their  teachers,  can  read.  I  ask,  whether  it  would  not 
be  more  honourable,  more  dignified,  more  like  ministers  of 
Christ,  for  them  to  urge  that  they  preach  the  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  the  doctrines  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles  ?  But,  Ah  ! 
they  know  better  :  that  would  not  be  so  safe  ;  would  not  answer 
their  purpose  so  well  ;  would  be  more  liable  to  detection  ; 
would  not  be  so  true  ;  although  it  is  not  a  fact  very  easily  made 
out,  that  they  preach  the  doctrines  of  any  one  of  the  reform- 
ers. Yet  it  is  an  assertion  which  few  of  their  hearers  can  con- 
tradict— an  assertion  which  fills  the  ignorant  with  great  venera- 
tion. 

2.  Their  preaching  is  not  calculated  to  excite  inquiry.  They 
say,  they  preach  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  ;  but  what  do 
they  preach  ?  A  triangle  !  They  dwell  for  ever  on  a  few  lead- 
ing points,  almost  without  variety  of  discussion.  A  congrega- 
tion may  hear  them  eternally ;  and  never  be  wiser.  If  men  are 
not  selfish  by  nature,  when  proselyted  or  converted  by  their 
preaching,  they  come  out  daring  advocates  for  selfishness. 
Their  three  grand  doctrines  paralyze  reason,  quiet  the  con- 
science, extinguish  all  endeavour  after  an  amendment  of  life, 
or  to  obtain  God's  favour,  and  make  out  a  religion  independent 
of  the  heart  or  intellect.  There  is  nothing  in  sin  or  holiness 
but  imputation  ;  the  sinner  is  condemned   and   punished  for  im- 

17* 


198 

puted  guilt,  made  holy,  justified,  and  saved,  by  imputed  right- 
eousness. His  eternal  destiny  to  misery  was  sealed  prior  to  his 
own  actions  ;  and  the  religion  to  which  he  is  restored,  and  in 
which  he  is  eternally  to  stand,  has  no  regard  to  his  own  moral 
actions.  His  religion  is  faith,  and  faith  is  independent  of  rea- 
son, prior  to  love,  distinct  from  good  works,  and  is  a  divine 
principle. 

Their  preaching  to  the  unregenerate  world  is  lamer  than  Me- 
phibosheth,  who  was  lame  on  both  his  feet  ;  blinder  than  Baiti- 
meus,  who  was  born  blind,*  and  weaker  than  Samson  shorn 
of  his  seven  locks.  They  cannot  convince  a  soul  of  sin,  be- 
cause Adam  had  done  his  work  for  him  almost  six  thousand 
years  ago.  They  cannot  preach  the  gospel  to  every  one,  be- 
cause Christ  did  not  die  for  every  one,  and  there  is  no  propitia- 
tion for  every  one.  They  cannot  make  a  soul  perceive  his 
guilt,  for  not  embracing  salvation,  even  if  provision  were  made 
for  him,  because  they  tell  him,  he  is,  in  every  sense,  unable  to 
do  it. 

When  they  sometimes  get  on  the  subject  of  love  or  charity, 
they  often  become  so  elequent,  and  work  their  hearers  up  into 
such  a  flame,  that  they  could  almost  tear  down  the  houses  of 
those  that  do  not  admire  the  doctrine  as  much  as  they  do  ;  at 
any  rate,  would  drive  them  out  of  the  city  if  they  could.  With 
regard  to  loving  our  neighbour  as  ourself,  however,  they  are 
very  guarded  ;  and  a  great  divine  has  lately  given  a  remarkably 
fine  turn  to  that  precept.  He  says,  instead  of  loving  God  with 
all  our  heart,  and  our  neighbour  as  ourselves,  that  the  law  of 
God  required  that  a  "  man  should  love  God  with  unceasing  solici- 
tude,  and  his  neighbour^  as  extensively  and  forcibly  as  the  pecu- 
liar design  of  the  Jewish  economy,  and  the  peculiar  character  of 
the  Jewish  people,  would  permit  "j     How  ingeniously  turned  ! 

Reader,  where  these  doctrines  prevail  there  is  no  inquiry 
after  truth  ;  for  as  the  tenets  naturally  extinguish  all  inquiry  and 
investigation,  the  more  shrewd  and  discerning  well  know,  that 
candid  and  fair  investigation  would,  infallibly,  result  in  dis- 
sent.    Hence, 

*  None  are  so  blind,  as  those  that  will  not  see. 
t  Romeyn's  Sermons,  vol.  I.  p.  105. 


199 

3.  Various  arts  are  used  to  prevent  inquiries  and  investiga- 
tions of  a  doctrinal  nature.  I  speak  of  what  has  been  done, 
and  is  now  doing,  in  this  city. 

What  books  do  they  recommend,  or,  in  plain  English,  allow 
their  people  to  read  ?  Very  few — few  indeed !  When  they  go 
into  a  house,  perhaps,  they  are  not  alarmed  if  they  see  Her- 
vey's  Meditations  lying  on  a  lady's  table.  And,  with  all  my 
heart,  let  them  read  it.  Its  beautiful  descriptions,  and  elegant 
style,  though,  perhaps,  sometimes  a  little  turgid,  and  laboriously 
ornamented,  render  it  an  interesting  book  ;  and,  in  general,  it  i« 
very  innocent,  while  a  vein  of  piety  runs  through  it.  Marshall 
and  Owen  will  do  exceedingly  ;  are  Antinoniian  enough  tor  the 
triangular  landlord.  What  would  they  say  if  they  should  see 
Edwards,  or  Hopkins,  or  Bellamy,  or  Emmons,  on  the  table  / 
Or,  perhaps,  some  of  Andrew  Fuller's  works,  or  the  'JViangle  ? 
And  the  good  lady,  li'  she  were  reading  them  in  earnest,  would 
blush,  if  not  tremble.  Not  many  years  ago,  several  of  these 
gentlemen  pretended  to  be  highly  exasperated,  because  a  book- 
seller m  this  city  published  Bellamy's  True  Religion  Delineated. 
Some  were  really  in  great  wrath,  and  talked  very  big  about  it, 
and  seemed  as  if  almost   determined  to  prosecute  the  publisher. 

A  lew  of  their  people  have  heard  there  is  sucli  a  book  as 
Marshall  on  Sanctitication,  and,  perhaps,  one  in  a  hundred  have 
seen  it ;  but,  alas,  the  support  of  their  plan  has  no  dependence 
on  books,  on  reasoning,  on  inquiry,  on  discussion !  Like  the 
fern,  it  grows  on  heaths  and  commons,  were  there  is  no  soil — 
in  solidudes,  where  the  implements  of  tillage  are  never  used  ; 
or,  perhaps,  like  a  well-known  plant  which  blossoms  under 
ground,  and  if  exposed  to  the  light  of  the  sun,  its  fruit  will 
blast.     But  1  hasten  to  observe, 

4.  Care  is  taken  to  keep  a  host  of  prejudices  continually 
awake  against  all  moJes  and  forms  of  inquiry.  If  a  man  comes, 
by  chance,  into  their  pulpits,  and  preaches  a  sermon  leading  to 
inquiry,  and  there  are  certain  trains  of  reasoning  eminently 
calculated  for  that  end,  they  frown  upon  it,  and  put  it  down, 
even  though  they  may  chance  to  approve  the  arguments  ad- 
vanced. They  have  a  certain  slang  about  metaphysics  which 
all  their  people  well  understand.     "  This  is  well  enough,"  say 


200 

they,  "  for  that  matter,  but  this  carnal  reasoiung,  this  metaphy- 
sical hair-splitting,  does  not  savour  of  the  gospel ;  I  would  rather 
hear  something  about  Christ."  Nothing  was  ever  more  artful, 
and  nothing  was  ever  more  hypocritical.  The  holy  and  glorious 
Redeemer  himself  is  made  the  stepping-stone  of  ambition,  and  he 
that  came  a  light  into  the  world,  to  enlighten  every  man,  is  made 
to  overshadow  and  obscure  his  own  doctrines. 

As  they  allow  the  preaching  of  others  to  open  no  source  of 
instruction,  and  lead  to  no  examination — as  in  their  own  sermons 
they  trace  round  and  round  the  triangle,  till  every  stated  hearer 
knows,  at  the  reading  of  the  text,  what  side  or  what  angle  is 
coming,  so  neither  in  their  conversation  do  they  lead  to  a  single 
avenue  of  light.  In  private  conversation,  they  affect  great  ho- 
liness and  authority.  They  often  make  some  ignorant  gaper 
believe,  that  they  can  pierce  the  veil  and  see  things  unutterable. 
They  -talk  about  knocking  boldly  at  heaven's  gate — about  de- 
manding of  God  this  and  that  favour ;  and  of  "  keeping  Christ 
to  his  word."  But,  withal,  they  take  care  to  be  very  mysterious 
and  mystical,  and  while,  to  the  purblind  catechumen,  their  faces 
often  shine  like  that  of  Moses  from  the  mount,  the  poor  fellow 
is  so  dazzled,  bewildered,  and  perhaps  enraptured,  that  he  has 
little  thought  of  asking  questions,  or  clearing  up  difficulties,  and 
perhaps  no  purpose  can  enter  his  mind,  in  those  awful  moments, 
but  that  of  seizing  hold  of  the  skirt  of  this  great  s^int,  and  not 
letting  go  till  he  gets  beyond  the  gulf. 

As  for  doctrinal  discussions  and  inquiries  among  the  people, 
they  are  not  encouraged — they  are  put  quite  out  of  fashion. 
When  they  happen  to  meet,  it  is  rather  recommended  to  them 
to  talk  about  experimental  religion  ;  to  wit,  feelings  which  nei- 
ther they  nor  their  masters  ever  had.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  say 
they  never  felt  experimental  religion ;  I  hope  otherwise  ;  but  the 
feelings  of  a  man's  heart  pay  no  regard  to  prejudices  of  his 
understanding,  or  the  absurd  theories  of  his  brain.  Bread  and 
beef  are  bread  and  beef,  and  look  and  taste  alike  in  all  countries, 
though  they  may  be  called  by  very  different  names.  The  ge- 
nuine feelings  of  religion  in  a  mmd  where  gross  selfishness  is 
professed,  and  the  grandest  trait  of  the  gospel,  even  universal 


201 

propitiation,  denied,  where  sin  and  holiness  are  resolved  into 
imputation,  and  faith  is  made  the  radical  principle  of  religion, 
must  be  in  an  uncomfortable  situation — must  resemble  some 
cornfields  in  Connecticut  which  I  have  seen,  where  the  stones 
were  so  high  and  so  large  that  you  must  turn  your  hoe  edgewise 
to  get  earth  enough  to  cover  the  seed.  Yet  I  have  known  no- 
ble crops  of  corn  sometimes  raised  there,  notwithstanding. 
These  stones  lay  on  the  surface,  the  soil  was  deeper.  May  it 
prove  to  be  so  with  these  triangular  Christians. 

At  all  events,  their  experimental  conversations  generally  turn 
upon  the  sermons  they  have  last  heard  ;  and  from  them,  by  an 
easy  periphrasis,  to  the  men  by  whom  they  were  delivered;  on 
which  latter  interesting  theme  they  can  dwell  for  hours  with 
great  earnestness  and  zeal.  And  full  and  perfect  details  of  these 
conversations,  together  with  all  the  encomiums,  praises,  eulogies, 
and  applauses,  reach  their  delighted  ear  within  twenty  hours 
from  the  moment  of  delivery.  And  how  much  better  this,  both 
for  the  minister  and  his  flock,  than  for  a  set  of  men  to  meet, 
each  one  with  his  metaphysical  file,  hammer,  chissel,  drill,  or 
scraper,  to  try  the  temper  and  the  metal  of  the  sermon  ;  nay,  to 
try  all  parts  of  truth,  and  boldly  dare  to  form  their  own  opinions 
of  every  proposition  ? — Hence,  I  remark, 

5.  They  neither  promote  nor  encourage  the  study  of  the 
scriptures,  nor  of  theological  truth  among  their  people.  Citi- 
zens of  New- York,  and  Christian  Brethren,  I  would  not  lay  this 
charge  had  I  not  perfect  assurance  of  its  truth,  and  did  I  not 
sincerely  believe  it.  And  if  I  am  mistaken  in  a  point  so  funda- 
mental, it  is  your  interests  I  plead — it  is  the  interests  of  thou- 
sands of  souls,  who  are  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge,  which 
induces  me  thus  to  encounter  the  shafts  of  malevolence,  the 
rage  of  the  designing,  and  the  curses  of  the  proud.  But  let 
them  hurl  their  shafts,  and  let  them  fulminate  their  anathemas — 
I  will  declare  the  truth.  Their  thunders  will  not  be  heard  on 
that  day  when  His  voice  who  speaks  in  thunders  shall  decide 
the  question.  Their  many-coloured  arts  will  gain  no  advantage 
in  that  court, 


202 

"  Where  there's  shuffling,  where  the  action  lies 
In  its  true  nature  ;  and  we  ourselves  compell'd, 
Even  to  the  teeth  and  forehead  of  our  faults, 
To  give  in  evidence." 

When  an  end  is  recommended  as  worthy  to  be  attained,  is  it 
not  usual  to  recommend  and  set  on  foot  the  means  of  attain- 
ment ?  How  do  they  promote  the  study  of  the  scriptures  ? 
What  methods  do  they  propose  1 — None  !  absolutely  none ! 
A  man's  name  may  be  heard  afar,  and  his  pride  may  be 
gratified,  by  becoming  a  distinguished  leader  even  in  a  na- 
tional Bible  Society,  while  his  stated  hearers  and  church  mem- 
bers may  be  ignorant  of  the  Bible.  I  highly  approve  of  a 
national  BiMe  Society  ;  and  I  would  to  God,  that  every 
church  in  this  city  were  a  bible  society,  in  a  far  stricter  sense : 
which  they  are  not.  But  the  fault  primarily  and  principally 
is  not  theirs ;  it  is  the  fault  of  those  by  whose  artful  manage- 
ment that  fairest  book  of  knowledge  is  overlooked.  Be  not 
mistaken,  Reader:  admiring  a  fine  sermon,  or  praising  the 
piety  and  talents  of  a  popular  preacher,  implies  no  knowledge 
of  the  Bible. 

They  institute  an  abundance  of  prayer  meetings^  to  which 
I  shall  certainly  make  no  objection.  But  "  men  ought  to  pray 
everywhere,  lifting  up  holy  hands  without  wrath  and  doubting." 
"  When  thou  prayest  enter  into  thy  closet,"  said  the  divine 
teacher.  Every  one  knows  that  it  is  less  necessary  for  men  to 
assemble  for  purposes  of  prayer  than  of  intelligence  and  in- 
struction. Prayer  is  the  souPs  desire,  going  to  God  ;  and  what- 
ever justness  of  form,  or  force  of  elocution,  we  may  use,  or  may 
be  used  in  our  hearing,  a  man  prays  for  nothing  but  what  he  de- 
sires. I  say  nothing  against  public  prayers — nothing  against 
forms  of  prayer,  which  I  have  often  heard  with  delight,  affection, 
and,  I  hope,  with  consentaneous  desire.  But  without  knowledge 
the  heart  cannot  be  good  ;  and  these  are  select  means  and  salu- 
tary institutions  for  promoting  knowledge. 

It  is  the  remark  of  Addison,  than  whom  few  men  possessed 
a  sounder  intellect,  that  he  never  heard  six  men  of  common 
understanding  give  their  opinions  deliberately  on  any  subject, 
however  familiar,  without  gaining  some  new  idea.     Six  men  of 


203 

ordinary   capacity  and  information,  who  shall  sit  down,  for  an 
evening  hour's  conversation,   shall   read  six   verses  in  the  gos- 
pel, and  give  their  opinions    distinctly  and  in  rotation,  upon  each 
verse  ;  canvassing   each  other's  opinions,  raising  and  solving  ob- 
jections with  the  freedom,  simplicity,  and  kindness  of  Christians 
— marking  their  application  to,  and   influence  on  conduct,   and 
they  shall  retire  instructed  and  edified,  probably  more  than  from 
hearing    an   ordinary    judicious   sermon.     They   surely   cannot 
come  up  with  Dr.  Campbell,  that  prince  of  biblical  critics.     They 
cannot  produce  an  elegant  and  learned  dissertation  on  the  dif- 
ferent shades  of  the   meaning   of   the  terms  kerusso,  euagelicco, 
and  didasko ;  they   cannot  show  that  the  plural  of  dtaholos  does 
not  mean  devils,  or  that  diaholai  signifies  nothing  worse  than  tat- 
tling old  women.     They  have  not  oriental  learning  to  carry  them 
back  to  the  Talmuds,  and   Targums,   to  the  ancient  copies  and 
versions,  neither  can  they   collate  so  many  of  the  different  read- 
ings, or  so  many  of  the   strange   and   ridiculous   expositions  of 
old  writers,  as   to  render  the   plainest  passage  of  the  Bible  ob- 
scure  and   unintelligible.      They    cannot  quote  Rab.   Sol.  Ben 
Jarchi,  Kennicottius,  Father  Simon,  Gosselinus  nor  Rambaggius. 

The  Bible  abounds  in  plain  truth,  expressed  in  a  manner 
adapted  to  the  meanest  capacity  ;  in  this  it  surpasses  any  book 
that  ever  was  written.  The  greatest  reader  with  whom  I  was  ever 
acquainted,  once  remarked  to  me,  that  he  had  often  been  sur- 
prised to  perceive,  when  he  came  to  read  expositors  and  anno- 
tators,  in  how  many  instances  his  first  and  most  childish  appre- 
hensions of  the  meaning  of  scripture  had  been  confirmed,  and 
in  how  few  instances  his  first  and  earliest  notions  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Bible,  whether  obtained  from  the  conversation  of  his 
parents,  or  from  his  own  almost  involuntary  reflections,  had  been 
discovered  to  be  incorrect. 

Errors  in  doctrine  do  not  generally  originate  from  mere  in- 
advertent misconceptions  of  scripture,  but  from  far  more  cul- 
pable causes.  Learning  and  ingenuity  have  had  a  large  share 
in  corrupting  divine  truth.  When  a  man  of  great  talents  has  a 
favorite  theory  to  make  out,  what  must  he  do  ?  He  runs  through 
the  Bible,  and  like  the  tyrant  who  stretched  or  clipped  his  guests 


204 

to  suit  them  to  his  bedstead,  he  effectually  stretches  or  clips  every 
adverse  passage  till  it  suits  him  :  he  confuses  the  perspicuous, 
distorts  proportion,  penumbrates  the  luminous,  illustrates  the  ob- 
scure ;  breaks  the  neck  of  one  passage  to  straighten  it,  of  another 
to  crook  it ;  clothes  one  passage  with  as  many  glosses  as  the 
daughter  of  Aurengzeebe  wore  suits  of  imperial  gauze,  and  scaiths 
another  as  the  morbid  dissector  does  his  subject,  lo  lay  bare  the 
muscles : — in  fine,  his  theory  is  his  line,  which  he  stretches  upon 
the  Bible,  and,  like  a  master  workman,  raises  or  depresses,  ad- 
vances or  retreats,  every  part  till  it  hits  the  line.  The  work 
is  done ;  and  he  has  displayed  great  learning  and  equal  talents, 
with  which  the  reader  is  charmed,  and  no  less  awed  by  his  autho- 
rity and  name.  He  has  done  it  with  a  master's  hand,  and  perhaps 
it  might  require  learning  and  talents  equal  to  his  own  to  confute 
him. 

Men  admire,  and  the  world  follows  him ;  but,  reader,  if  God's 
word  were  like  the  human  body,  it  would  bleed  under  his  hand 
in  every  part,  and  suffer  pain  in  every  member.  By  these  me- 
thods, every  doctrine  of  the  Roman,  the  Greek,  the  Arminian, 
the  Antinomian,  is  made  out.  But  the  word  of  God  is  not  such 
a  book  as  can  naturally  lead  to  this  infinite  confusion  of 
opinions.  It  is  ambition  and  selfishness  that  do  the  work.  When 
the  day  of  God  shall  pour  resistless  light  on  every  understand- 
ing, men  shall  see  that  their  errors  have  been  the  offspring  of 
pride  and  wilful  blindness. 

Every  man  is  ready  to  say,  "  show  me  that  I  am  wrong,  and 
I  will  reform."  But,  alas  !  when  errors  have  become  popular, 
supported  by  great  names,  beautified  and  adorned  by  wealth 
and  fashion,  and  fortified  and  defended  by  prejudice,  passion, 
influence,  and  power,  who  is  willing  to  see  them  in  the  light  of 
error?  Who  has  fortitude  to  meet  the  frowns  of  the  powerful, 
the  censure  of  those  reputed  for  wisdom,  the  contempt  of  the 
learned,  and  the  hatred  or  pity  of  the  multitude  ?  Barriers 
these,  through  which  few  can  break.  Here  lies  the  strength  of 
error,  and  the  strongest  bulwark  against  reformation.  Errors 
are  generally  weak  in  themselves,  far  less  supported  by  reason 
or  evidence  than  truth ;    but  they  derive  gigantic  force   from 


205 

their  agreeableness  to  the  mind,  and  from  the  difficulty  there  is  in 
resisting  the  multitude. 

I  am  no  enemy  to  biblical  criticism  ;  I  would  be  quite  willing 
that  our  masters  and  professors  in  that  noble  science  had  ten 
times  more  of  it  than  they  have.  I  do  not  think  them  yet  mad 
through  much  learning  ;  yet  I  am  aware  that  biblical  criticism,  as 
a  profession,  and  as  a  science,  may  assume  an  attitude  so  impos- 
ing ;  may  be  so  managed  as  to  check,  discourage,  and  crush  the 
taste  and  spirit  of  inquiry  into  the  import  of  the  scriptures  in 
the  great  body  of  the  people.  Ajid  I  have  seen,  with  inexpressi- 
ble regret  and  disgust,  that  the  professed  expositors  of  the  Bible, 
in  this  city,  do  artfully  carry  that  business  with  so  lofty  and 
mysterious  a  hand,  that  the  people,  without  knowing  it,  are 
led  to  regard  the  Bible,  except  when  its  meaning  is  dealt  out  to 
them  in  precious  morsels  by  their  teachers,  as  an  almost  sealed 
book. 

I  ask  every  reflecting  man  whether  a  wise  nation  will  surrender 
up  their  liberties  at  the  discretion  of  their  rulers,  because  those 
rulers  are  wise  and  virtuous  men  ?  If  they  do,  they  are  a  ruined 
people  ;  and  this  has  been  the  ruin  and  downfall  of  all  free  gov- 
ernments. But  how  much  more  so  has  it  ruined  the  church  of 
Christ  !  When  mankind  surrender  their  understandings  and  con- 
sciences, without  examination,  to  a  set  of  men,  they  never  more 
deserve  to  be  entrusted  with  understandings,  since  they  refuse  to 
use  them  in  the  grandest  of  all  concerns  for  which  an  understand- 
ing is  given,  or  can  be  of  use. 

The  moral  maxims  of  vital  importance  to  human  happiness, 
the  great  body  of  practical  wisdom,  and,  indeed,  all  the  grand 
truths  essential  to  salvation,  are  made  perfectly  plain  in  tlfe 
Bible.  But  that  which  never  engages  the  attention  cannot  be 
known,  however  plain  it  is  made.  Nothing  can  sufliciently  en- 
gage the  atte-ntion  which  is  not  made  the  subject  of  thought, 
reflection,  conversation,  and  discussion.  Conversation  with  a 
familiar  friend,  expressing  our  own  conceptions  and  views  of 
a  subject,  is  the  only  way  in  which  we  become  acquainted 
with  that  subject.  Why  is  it  necessary  that  ministers  of  re- 
ligion should  have  about  them  such  a  vast  apparatus  of  learn- 
ing— should  know  so.-  much  and  so  accurately  about  theology  ? 
18 


206 

Is  it  merely  to  make  a  splendid  show,  and  now  and  then  come 
out  and  dazzle  and  astonish  their  hearers  with  the  pomp  of 
their  erudition  ?  Doubtless ;  if  we  may  judge  from  the  con- 
duct of  many.  Of  what  use  is  it  if  a  man  is  looked  upon  as  a 
walking,  moving  mass  of  divinity,  if  it  must  live  and  die  in 
his  carcass,  and  his  infatuated  admirers  goon  gazing  and  ad- 
miring him  for  his  great  knowledge,  while  they,  alas !  are 
comparatively  ignorant,  sleek  and  easy,  as  the  horses  that  drag 
their  carriage  1 

One  grand  reason  why  it  is  useful  for  a  clergyman  to  possess 
great  knowledge  is,  that  he  may  communicate  that  knowledge 
and  take  measures  that  his  people  may  also  excel  in  knowledge, 
which  I  hesitate  not  to  declare  is  not  done  at  all,  or  most  miser- 
ably done,  by  many  in  this  city. 

I  have  said  the  study  of  the  scriptures,  and  the  discussion 
of  scripture  doctrines,  among  the  people  at  large,  is  not  encour- 
aged in  this  city.  Who  has  taken  any  vigorous  measures  for 
the  attainment  of  that  object?  What  associations  were  ever 
formed  among  the  people,  and  what  progress  made.  So  far 
from  it,  I  venture  to  affirm,  that,  were  any  one  of  all  these  tri- 
angular pontiffs  to  discover,  that  a  large  number  of  his  most 
judicious  hearers  had  associated  together,  to  meet  once  a  week, 
to  read  the  scriptures,  and  discuss  doctrinal  points,  he  would  feel 
the  greatest  alarm,  and  would  take  immediate  measures  to  sup- 
press it.  I  put  it  to  the  consciences  of  those  gentlemen  that  I 
speak  the  truth.  Yes,  they  would  feel  much  alarm,  and  with 
much  reason :  for  so  sure  as  the  sun  gives  light,  should  the  re- 
ligious people  of  this  city  take  a  simultaneous  determination  to 
"  read  the  scriptures  daily,"  and,  like  the  noble  Bereans,  examine 
for  themselves,  "  whether  these  things  be  so,"  this  wretched 
triangular,  limited,  contracted  scheme  of  Antinomian  selfishness 
would  vanish  away. 

No  :  there  are  no  such  associations. — And  whilst  there  is  not 
a  nobler  object  for  which  an  association  could  be  formed  ;  whilst 
there  are  missionary  societies,  charitable  societies,  praying  so- 
cieties, Sunday  school  societies,  Bible  societies,  there  are  no 
societies,  amongst  rich  or  poor,  male  or  female,  old  or  young. 


207 

pious  or  impious,  for  reading  and  understanding  that  invaluable 
book ;  for  discussing  and  understanding  those  glorious  and  aw- 
ful, those  sublime  and  venerable,  doctrines  on  which  man's  eter- 
nal felicity  depends.  They  are  wiUing,  it  seems,  that  people 
should  pray,  and  give  their  money  bountifully ;  that  they  should 
send  Bibles  to  the  Heathen,  but  do  they  wish  them,  in  earnest, 
to  take  up  that  Bible,  and  adopt  the  only  true  and  vigorous 
methods  of  understanding  it  ?     "I  trow  not." 

A  nobler  amusement,  a  richer  repast  for  the  mind,  an  exer- 
cise better  adapted  to  invigorate  the  faculties,  enlarge  the  un- 
derstanding, to  amalgamate  different  minds,  and  conflicting 
opinions,  cannot  be  devised.  And  the  progress  which  the 
mind  makes  in  these  exercises  is  delightful  and  surprising.  "  I 
will  speak,"  said  Elihu,  "  that  I  may  be  refreshed."  The  mind, 
like  the  body,  is  invigorated  by  exercise  ;  and  if  never  exer- 
cised it  is  ever  feeble  and  unformed.  Six  men,  as  I  said  above, 
who  shall  give  their  opinions  on  but  six  verses  of  the  scriptures, 
however  weak  they  may  appear,  at  first,  will,  in  a  little  time 
acquire  facility  by  repeated  efforts,  system  and  arrangement  by 
pre\ious  reflection,  and  from  those  very  words,  which  they 
have  heard  pronounced  hundreds  of  times,  without  awakening 
a  single  idea,  new  thoughts  will  occur,  new  beauties  will  expand, 
and  important  knowledge  will  be  gained.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  human  mind  will  improve  in  nothing  to  which  it  is 
made  but  the  passive  spectator.  And  this  remark  applies  with 
greater  force  to  that  species  of  instruction  derived  from  hearing. 
The  habitual  and  orderly  expression  of  our  own  thoughts,  at 
stated  periods,  invigorates  the  powers  of  association  and  com- 
bination, fixes  the  mind  to  its  object,  assists  comparison  and  de- 
duction, while  the  mind  resembles  the  distaff,  and  the  discourse 
the  hand  which  draws  out  the  thread. 

But,  alas  !  if  self-evident  truth  fails  of  any  effect,  if  the  no- 
blest motives  are  without  force  against  a  tide  of  prejudice,  and 
against  the  influence  of  a  set  of  men,  who  patrole  every  street, 
and  stand,  arrectis  auribus^  at  every  corner,  catching  the  undu- 
lations of  every  whisper,  and  forestalling  the  incipient  symptoms 
of  conviction,  in  vain  do   I  dwell  on  this  theme.     Nevertheless, 


208 

it  will  not  disturb  the  repose  of  ray  dying  pillow,  that  I  have 
lifted  my  voice  while  others  were  silent ;  that  I  have  incurred 
the  resentment  of  those  whose  friendship  will  prove  more  for- 
midable to  thousands  than  their  enmity  can  be  to  one. 

With  few  words  I  shall  close  this  number.  I  have  stated 
some  of  the  methods  used  to  prevent  any  disposition  to  inquire 
after  truth,  any  taste  for  doctrinal  discussion ;  and,  combining 
with  other,  and,  perhaps,  accidental  causes,  they  have  rendered 
it  altogether  unfasihonable.  The  very  taste  for  such  conversa- 
tion, reading,  reflection,  and  pursuit,  is  extirpated,  and  there 
may  also  be  clearly  perceived  in  it  the  operation  of  judicial 
blindness.  It  is  in  the  nature  of  man  to  love  darkness  rather  than 
light,  because  his  deeds  are  evil. 

But  'there  is  one  other  method  more  recently  resorted  to,  to 
which  I  shall  briefly  advert.  The  sword  is  drawn,  and  the  point 
of  ecclesiastical  censure  is  now  fairly  presented  and  opposed  to 
the  breast  of  every  one  who  dares  to  deviate  from  what  these 
divines  term  orthodoxy.  In  the  last  number  of  the  last  series, 
I  noticed  the  pastoral  letter  of  the  synod  of  Philadelphia,  in 
which  Hopkinsian  tenets  are  denounced  as  heresy.  They  have 
also  fairly  past  a  test  act  by  which  every  minister  licentiate  is 
to  be  examined  touching  those  points,  and  if  found  a  Hopkin- 
sian, is  to  be  rejected.  I  noticed  in  the  first  series  the  expulsion 
of  Mr.  D from  a  seminary  in  this  city,  because  he  advoca- 
ted those  sentiments ;  and  the  same  man  whose  signature 
adorned  that  disgraceful  act  of  expulsion,  has  very  lately,  in  a 
missionary  society  of  this  city,  exerted  his  influence  successfully 

against  Mr.  C ,  and  procured  his  rejection  as  a  missionary, 

on  the  charge  of  his  not  being  sound  in  the  faith  ;  although  one 
third  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  society  agree  in  sentiments 
with  Mr.  C . 

This  gentleman  is  becoming  famous  on  the  list  of  bigotry 
and  intolerance,  and  it  is  fitting  that  his  oflicial  conduct  be  held 
up  to  public  observation.  Neither  ought  the  reader  to  imagine 
that  I  am  actuated  by  mere  gratuitous  malice  in  calling  his  at- 
tention to  such  conduct.  The  people  of  this  country,  and  of 
this   city  in  special,  ought  to   study  the  fable  of  the  shepherd's 


209 

boy  and  the  wolves.  They  have  in  fact,  so  often,  and  so  long, 
heard  the  cry  of  wolves :  they  have  heard  the  cry  of  Tyranny  ! 
Tyranny  !  from  all  quarters,  from  all  parties,  till  they  have  grown 
callous  to  the  cry  ;  yet  wolves  will  come  at  last. 

The  people  ought  to  be  apprised,  that  the  points  of  doctrine, 
so  recently  censured  by  these  men  as  heresy,  have  never  been 
considered,  in  any  part  of  this  country,  as  a  bar  to  communion, 
or  as  a  wall  of  separation  between  Christians,  as  individuals  or  as 
churches.  They  are  not  so  considered  in  the  churches  of  Eng- 
land or  Scotland,  nor,  indeed,  by  any  of  the  protestant  churches 
in  Europe,  except  where  mingled  with  other  matters  which  involve 
religious  order  and  discipline. 

Is  it  a  happy  omen — does  it  promise  well  to  the  Christian 
church,  in  this  country,  that  such  a  bigoted  and  intolerant  spirit 
should  now  begin  to  show  its  deformed  features  and  cloven 
foot  ?  Is  it  best  for  individuals,  and  churches,  and  Presbyteries, 
and  Synods — nay,  for  different  denominations  and  sects,  to  begin 
to  hurl  their  censures  and  anathemas  at  one  another  ?  Shall 
Bible  and  Missionary  Societies,  generally  embracing  denomina- 
tions of  different  sentiments,  turn  from  their  great  object,  and 
fall  upon  their  own  members  with  base  invectives  and  furious 
anathemas  ?  Yes : — this,  it  seems,  is  now  to  be  done,  and  a  grand 
specimen  was  recently  given,  as  already  noticed,  in  which  a  young 
licentiate  of  most  unblemished  morals,  exemplary  piety,  and  pro- 
mising talents,  was  rejected  as  a  missionary,  and  condemned  as 
unsound  in  the  faith. 

This  hopeful  business  was  managed,  and  violently  carried 
through,  though  one  third  of  the  members  of  the  board  agreed 
in  doctrine  with  Mr.  C.  by  the  same  man  who  aided,  or  rather 
was  principal,  in  D.'s  expulsion.  I  ask  the  candid  and  well-dis- 
posed of  all  denominations,  of  all  orders,  whether  such  a  man 
can  be  regarded  in  any  other  light  than  as  a  blind,  haughty,  and 
furious  bigot  ?  I  ask  the  disinterested  reader  what  sort  of  min- 
istry, that  will  be,  trained  up  in  his  maxims,  formed  from  his  pre- 
cepts and  examples  ?  nor  will  they  need  to  wait  his  falling  man- 
tle, to  imbibe  a  double  portion  of  his  spirit :  For  that  is  a  spirit, 
into  which  "  Non  docti,  sed  nati,  non  instituti,  sed  imhuti  sumus*''^ 
18* 


210 

There  is  no  privilege,  it  would  seem,  no  honour,  no  public 
nor  private  advantage,  to  be  derived  from  that  equal  considera- 
tion, reciprocity  of  iudulgence  and  charity,  equality  of  rank  and 
immunity,  which  all  religious  sects  hold  in  the  eye  of  our  free 
and  excellent  constitution,  and  are  thereby  required  to  hold  in 
the  eye  of  each  other.  From  this  soil  of  liberty  and  justice, 
watered  by  the  blood  of  patriots,  is  now  to  spring  up,  not  a 
crop  of  warriors,  where  dragon's  teeth  had  been  sown,  but  a 
race  of  stern,  unrelenting,  religious  despots,  who  are  to  change 
the  order  of  things  in  this  country.  And  as  property  and  lucra- 
tive stations  are  primary  objects  with  them,  they  will  seize,  if 
possible,  on  the  great  cities,  and  fix  their  triangular  iron  box  on 
every  pericranium  they  can  allure,  flatter,  babble,  or  frighten 
into  it ;  and  if  any  one  throws  it  off,  ah !  a  heretic !  a  here- 
tic !  "  unsound  in  the  faith  !"  "  rotten  at  the  core  !"  And  could 
they  have  but  the  syndics  and  civil  magistrates  to  second  their 
pious  endeavours,  and  carry  home  their  holy  censures,  what 
reformations  we  should  have  !  we  should  quickly  see  the  days  of 
the  Reformers  return  ;  and  there  would  be  none  of  the  "  northern 
storm"  in  all  this.  No  !  but  frequent  blasts  from  a  hotter  and 
more  murky  region. 

Whoever  shall  read  this  number,  and  shall  judge  that  the  se- 
verity of  the  remarks  are  disproportioned  to  the  requisition  of 
the  occasion,  will  do  well  to  consider  the  graiid  theme  repeated 
by  the  voice  of  the  union  herself,  at  every  anniversary  of  our 
independence.  Why  did  our  forefathers  leave  the  shores 
of  Europe,  and  encounter  the  perils  of  the  deep — the  dangers 
and  privations  of  the  wilderness  ?  Liberty  of  conscience  was 
one  grand  motive.  Here,  under  a  guiding  providence,  they 
planted  the  Tree  of  Liberty,  and  by  the  suns  an'd  showers  of 
heaven,  it  has  grown  to  a  majestic  size.  Whoever  opposes 
the  censures  of  the  church  to  freedom  of  opinion  and  private 
judgment,  in  the  manner  these  men  have  done,  is  a  religious  ty- 
rant, and  sins  against  the  highest  privilege  of  the  nation ;  and 
had  our  civil  rulers  no  more  discretion  and  virtue  than  he  has, 
our  land,  from  being  a  land  of  freedom  and  happiness,  would 
become  an  Aceldama — a  field  of  blood. 


211 

Reader,  you  hear,  in  these  pages  the  voice  of  a  single,  ob- 
scure, unknown,  individual.  You  can,  with  ease,  slight  and 
spurn  it.  With  e  ase  can  you  tear  the  unfinished  page,  or  hurl 
the  book  into  the  flames,  as  the  infatuated  king  of  Judah  did  the 
message  of  the  prophet.  But  you  will  perceive  that  that  rash  act 
did  not  save  his  country,  nor  himself;  neither  will  a  similar  act 
prevent  or  procrastinate  the  evils  which  hnpend.  Had  public  bo- 
dies a  consciousness,  and  could  the  religious  community  of  this 
vast  country  speak,  as  saith  the  prince  of  orators,  "  Si  ilia,  una 
voce,  loqueretur,^^  she  would  bewail,  with  tears,  the  ingratitude  of 
her  children ;  she  would  express  her  indignation,  in  a  language 
suitable  to  her  dignity,  at  those  who  envy  others  the  blessings 
they  derive  from  her  ;  and  her  contempt  at  the  impotent  ambition 
which  claims  powers  which  she  never  granted.  But  she  would 
perceive  these  daring  attempts,  generally  made  by  strangers  to 
her  blood,  and  aliens  to  her  free  and  noble  spirit : — exotics, 
which,  withering  in  their  native  soil  and  climate,  have  been 
transplanted  hither,  to  fatten  on  the  credulity  of  the  simple,  to 
prove  the   virtue  of  the  upright,  and  to   punish  the  ingratitude  of 

the  wicked. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  III. 

I  HAVE  said,  in  the  preceding  number,  that  the  people  in  this 
city,  who  listen  to  a  certain  strain  of  preaching,  which  I  have 
styled  triangular,  are  not  well  instructed  in  the  great  doctrines 
of  Christianity.  I  do  not  say  this  without  a  due  consideration 
of  the  allegation  it  imports  ;  and  I  am  fully  aware,  that  to  the 
candid  mind  of  persons  at  a  distance,  or  to  the  incautious  on 
ihe  spot,  it  may  appear  too  severe.  It  shall  be  the  business  of 
this  number  to  make  good  the  ground  here  assumed. 

The  instructions  given  are  incorrect  in  their  nature,  deficient 
in    their  extent,  and  tend  to  extinguish  rather  than  excite  inquiry. 


212 

Two  volumes  of  sermons  have  lately  been  published  in  the 
city.*  These  sermons  I  offer  as  documents  to  prove  the  first 
part  of  this  charge,  viz.  that  incoirect  instructions  are  given. 
When  a  man  comes  out  in  two  large  volumes  of  sermons,  in  a 
great  and  polished  city,  we  have  some  reason  to  believe  he  has 
selected  his  ablest  productions.!  The  third  sermon  of  vol.  I.  is 
entitled  "  The  glory  of  a  nation."  Page  104 — 5,  this  writer 
observes  : 

"  We  shall  first  examine  their  laws,  (the  Hebrew)  confining 
ourselves,  however,  to  a  few  general  notices. 

"  In  these  laws,  the  great  principles  of  moral  duty  are  pro- 
mulgated with  a  solemnity  suited  to  their  high  pre-eminence. 
Love  to  God,  with  unceasing  solicitude,  and  love  to  our  neigh- 
bour, as  extensively  and  forcibly  as  the  peculiar  design  of  the 
Jewish  economy,  and  the  peculiar  character  of  the  Jewish  people 
would  permit,  are  enjoined.^^ 

On  these  two  commands,  says  Christ,  hang  all  the  law  and 
the  prophets  ;  and  they  doubtless  comprise  the  soul  and  es- 
sence of  all  religion  ;  "  for,"  saith  the  Apostle  John,  "  he  that 
loveth  is  born  of  God  :  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in 
God,  and  God  in  him." 

But  was  ever  such  a  definition  given  of  the  law  of  God  as 
our  divine  here  gives? — a  definition  so  poor,  so  meagre  and 
wretched  ? — a  definition  which  tarnishes,  nay,  abolishes  the  di- 
vine law?  I  think  a  common  school  boy  will  perceive  its  hol- 
lowness :  a  person  nourished  from  youth  on  the  amor  sui  will 
even  be  shocked  to  read  it.  Who  ever  heard  of  loving  God 
with  "  solicitude  ?"  The  first  and  grand  import  of  solicitude  is 
anxiety,  which  consists  in  a  perturbed,  depressed,  fluctuating, 
fearful,  and  painful  state  of  mind.  Never  was  there  a  more  ill 
chosen  term  to  delineate  the  holy  and  glorious  affection  of  per- 
fect love,  which  God's  law  requires.  "  Perfect  love  casteth  out 
fear :"  "  And  herein,"  says  John,  "  is  our  love  made  perfect  that 
we  may  have  boldness  in   the  day  of  judgment,"     But   does  not 

*  Dr.  Romeyn's. 

t  A  great  writer  says,  that  a  man  must  be  tall  at  20,  beautiful  at  30,  rich 
at  40,  and  wise  at  50  ;  or  else  never  tall,  beautiful,  rich,  or  wise.  The  author 
of  the  sermons  ought  not  to  be  far  from  wise. 


213 

the   law  require  perfect,  supreme  love  to    God,  an  affection  free 
from   all    solicitude? 

S  elfish  love  to  God  is  indeed  full  of  solicitude — full  of  anxie- 
ty, because  it  is  grounded  on  nothing  but  an  expectation  of 
benefit  ;  and  as  the  selfish  man  has  no  certain  evidence  that 
God  will  continue  to  do  him  good,  nothing  is  so  faint,  so  waver- 
ing, so  full  of    anxiety,  as   his 'love  to    God. 

But  the  second  part  of  this  definition  is  still,  if  possible,  more 
extraordinary.  This  writer  tells  us,  that  the  law  requires  a  man 
"  to  love  his  neighbour  as  extensively  and  forcibly  as  the  peculiar 
design  of  the  Jewish  economy,  and  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
Jewish  people  would  permit.  It  seems,  then,  that  a  man's  love  to 
his  neighbour  is  to  be  regulated  by  two  considerations,  1st. 
The  peculiar  design  of  the  Jewish  economy,  and  2d.  The  peculiar 
character  of  the  Jewish  people.  In  the  name  of  all  that  is  mar- 
vellously absurd,  I  desire  to  know  what  connexion  a  man's 
love  to  his  neighbour  has  with  the  peculiar  design  of  the  Jewish 
economy,  and  which  way  this  wonderful  definition  points?  If 
any  definition  or  exposition  of  the  spirit  of  the  moral  law  ever 
merited  for  a  man  the  epithet  of  Antinomian,  surely  this  defini- 
tion does  for  its  author.  For  the  peculiar  design  of  the  Jewish 
economy  being  long  ago  accomplished,  that  economy  was 
brought  to  an  end  ;  and  vi^ith  it  a  man's  obligation  to  love  his 
neighbour,  according  to  this  profound  expositor. 

But  even  while  that  economy  lasted,  what  does  this  defini- 
tion make  out  concerning  the  extent  and  force  of  a  man's  love 
to  his  neighbour  ? — "  As  extensively  and  forcibly,"  says  the  wri- 
ter, '*  as  the  peculiar  design  of  the  Jewish  economy  would  per- 
mit." Captain  Cook  sailed  as  far  south  as  the  fields  of  ice  would 
permit : — they  stopped  his  progress.  So,  it  seems,  the  Jews  were 
not  allowed  to  love  one  another  any  more  than  their  peculiar 
economy  could  permit.  In  their  peculiar  economy  they  found 
a  barrier,  at  which  they  might  tack  about,  from  love  to  hatred, 
as  suddenly  as  Cook  did  when  he  met  the  fields  of  ice.  If  the 
expression  does  not  imply  this,  it  implies  nothing.  But,  alas  ! 
since  the  Jewish  economy  is  abolished,  and  its  peculiar  designs 
accomplished,  men  may  now  love  as  much  or  as  little  as  they 
please  ;    and  love  now  makes  no  part  of  religion. 


214 

Let  not  the  reader  make  up  his  mind  too  suddenly,  that  I 
overstrain  the  writer's  meaning  ;  for  I  will  show  him,  before  I 
have  done,  that  all  this  is  intended  by  this  able  expositor  of  the 
divine  law. 

Had  the  learned  Doctor  been  contented  with  one  definition,  or, 
rather,  with  setting  up  one  barrier  against  the  letter  and  spirit  of 
the  law  of  God — had  he  been  satisfied  with  limiting  and  abol- 
ishing the  obligation  of  love  to  our  neighbour,  with  the  Jewish 
economy,  he  would  simply  have  justified  his  classification  with 
the  boldest  of  Antinomians.  But  this  was  not  enough.  This 
duty  of  love  to  our  neighbour  must  be  narrowed  down  by  a 
far  more  definite  barrier ;  for,  to  say  a  man  must  love  his  neigh- 
bour as  extensively  and  forcibly  as  the  peculiar  design  of  the 
Jewish  economy  would  permit,  leaves  it  vastly  at  random.  Some 
people  might  be  pleased  to  say  that  that  economy  required  a 
great  degree  of  love,  whilst  others  aflirmed  it  required  very  little. 
But  our  author  settles  this  point  by  another  barrier,  of  a  very 
different  material.  "  The  law  required,"  says  he,  "  that  a  man 
should  love  his  neighbour  as  extensively  and  forcibly  as  the  pecu^ 
liar  character  of  the  Jewish  people  would  permit. ^^ 

There  can  be  no  doubt  what  "  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
Jewish  people  "  was.  They  were  a  people  stiff'-necked  and  un- 
circumcised  in  heart,  and  even  during  the  forty  days,  while  the 
law  was  preparing  on  Sinai — while,  as  yet,  the  trumpet  had  hard- 
ly ceased  to  roar,  or  the  thunders  of  the  voice  of  God  to  shake 
the  earth,  they  revolted  into  open  idolatry,  and  made  an  idol  to 
lead  them  back  to  Egypt.  The  law  of  God,  says  this  writer, 
required  this  people  to  love  one  another  as  much  "  as  their  pecu- 
liar character  would  permit.'''' 

Reader,  this  is  plain  English  :  turn  to  the  104th  page  of  the 
first  volume,  and  there  you  will  find  it.  But  how  much  love 
did  "  the  peculiar  character  of  the  Jewish  people  permit  i"'  I  an- 
swer NONE ;  for,  as  a  people,  they  were  a  peculiarly  rebellious 
and  hardened  people.  To  say  the  least,  as  a  people  they  were 
unregenerate,  and  void  of  every  degree  of  that  love  to  God  and 
each  other,  which  his  law  requires. 

Here  is  no  perversion  of  an  equivocal,  or  intricate  sentence, 
and  the  fact,  on  which  I  predicate  the  allegation,  is  in  no  man- 


215 

ner  constructive,  but  plain,  simple,  and  obvious,  for  every  one 
to  read. 

This  exposition  of  the  law  of  God,  seems  as  much  to  baffle 
all  comment,  as  it  mocks  at  all  comparison.  Men,  instead  of 
being  required  to  love  God  supremely,  and  their  neighbour  as 
themselves,  are  said  to  be  required  to  love  God  with  constant 
solicitude — with  slavish,  base,  and  painful  anxiety,  and  their 
neighbour  as  much  as  their  depraved  nature  and  character  would 
permit. 

Before  1  proceed  further,  I  think  I  am  justified  in  calling  upon 
the  reader  to  judge  for  himself,  whether  a  man  who  is  capable 
of  giving  such  an  explanation  of  the  love  of  God  can  be  expected 
to  lead  the  minds  of  his  hearers  into  correct  and  just  views  of 
truth,  or  to  convey  wholesome  instructions  on  the  important 
doctrines  of  revelation.  His  personal  friends,  of  which  class  I 
surely  hope  he  is  not  destitute,  will  probably  say,  in  his  vindica- 
tion, that  he  sometimes  gives  a  better  explanation  of  this  grand 
article.  Does  he,  indeed  ? — I  wish  he  always  gave  a  better ; — 
one  thing  is  certain,  he  cannot  give  a  worse  ;  and,  what  is  pe- 
culiarly unfortunate  for  him,  1  have  my  eye  on  another  similar 
attempt  in  these  sermons  to  fritter  away  to  nothing  the  obligation 
of  lovi7ig  our  neighbour  as  ourselves.  This  precept  of  the  law 
comes  so  fearfully  near  to  the  doctrine  of  disinterested  benevo- 
lence, that  this  writer,  and  all  others  of  his  class,  must  explain  it 
away.  They  hate  the  sight  and  sound  of  it  as  much  as  the  Sa- 
racens and  Turks  hated  the  sight  of  a  monument  of  Grecian 
architecture,  and  have  taken  as  much  pains  to  destroy  it  ;  but, 
as  it  is  too  massive  to  be  undermined,  they  have  attempted  to 
dilapidate  its  columns,  architraves,  and  pilasters,  and  deface  its 
reheros  and  inscriptions. 

The  suggestion,  that  the  Doctor  sometimes  explains  the  divine 
law  in  a  less  exceptionable  manner,  brings  to  my  mind  Sir  Isaac 
Newton's  optical  doctrine  of  "  fits  of  easy  transmission.''^  He 
supposes  that  luminous  bodies,  and  particularly  the  sun,  throw 
out  their  light  in  certain  sudden  vibrations  ;  which,  instead  of  a 
better  term,  he  is  pleased  to  call  fits  of  easy  transmission.  The 
Doctor,  in  his  easy  fits  of  transmission  throws  out  ideas  which, 
19,  general,  he  seems  wiUing  to  conceal.     He  often  speaks  of  the 


216 

infinite  purity  and  eternal  obligation  of  the  divine  law ;  which 
fine  flourish  leads  the  incautious  reader  or  hearer  into  a  total 
mistake.  To  love  God  with  solicitude,  and  our  neighbour  as 
extensively  and  forcibly  as  the  design  of  the  Jewish  economy, 
and  the  character  of  the  Jewish  people  would  permit,  neither 
conveys  the  idea  of  infinite  purity  or  eternal  obHgation,  but  ra- 
ther of  infinite  vileness  and  eternal  stupidity,  and  especially  in 
the  expositor  who  dares  thus  to  degrade  and  annihilate  the  moral 
law. 

For,  admitting  the  law  to  be  still  in  force,  what  is  it  worth 
requiring  men  to  love  God  with  solicitude,  and  each  other  as 
much  as  their  depraved  characters  would  permit  1  But  its  obliga- 
tion being  measured  by  the  design  of  the  Jewish  economy,  it 
must  have  been  abrogated  and  done  away  with  that  economy. 
And  this  is  the  author's  meaning ;  to  establish  which,  is  not  mere- 
ly once  attempted,  but  is  the  great  labour  of  his  life,  and  aim  of 
his  public  instructions. 

Of  what  avail  is  a  pompous  concession  of  the  infinite  purity 
and  eternal  obligation  of  the  law,  after  such  an  exposition  of 
that  law  as  we  have  before  us  ?  But,  independent  of  this  exposi- 
tion, even  had  this  writer  expounded  the  import  and  spirit  of 
the  law  never  so  correctly,  his  notion  of  the  gospel  places  his 
scheme  precisely  on  the  Antinomian  ground.  Christ  has  paid 
the  sinner's  debt  ;  taken  the  sinner  into  a  mystical  union  with 
himself ;  made  over  his  righteousness  to  the  sinner  ;  and  as  he 
is  "  of  full  weight  and  measure,  perfectly  conformable  to  the  law, 
he  makes  them  {the  sinner)  just,  or  of  full  weight  before  God,  ly 
clothing  them  with  his  righteousness^ 

He  then  adds,  p.  69.  "  This  doctrine  of  righteousness  .through 
a  Redeemer,  otherwise  called  the  righteousness  of  faith,  is  the  rad' 
ical  principle  of  revealed  religion,  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,^* 
I  put  his  words  in  italics  that  they  may  not  be  overlooked.  And 
he  closes  this  wonderful   paragraph   by   saying,  "  This  is  the 

SUBSTANCE    OF    THE    GOSPEL." 

I  beg  the  reader  to  follow  me  with  a  little  patience,  and  I  will 
ferret  the  serpent  from  the  crevices  of  his  rock.  By  the  serpent 
I  do  not  mean  the  man,  but  his  monstrous  error. 

Reader,  you  now  have  before  you  the  "Doctor's  view  of  the  law 


217 

and  the  gospel.  The  great  precept  on  which  hangs  all  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  under  his  transforming  pen,  is  made  to  say, 
Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  unceasing  solicitude,  i.  e. 
with  painful  and  depressing  anxiety  and  perturbation,  and  thy 
neighbour,  as  much  as  the  design  of  the  Jewish  economy,  and 
the  depraved  character  of  the  Jewish  people  would  permit.  And, 
it  seems,  taking  them  together,    they  permitted  none  at  all. 

His  obvious  motive  for  measuring  our  love  to  our  neighbour, 
by  the  design  of  the  Jewish  economy,  and  the  character  of  the 
Jewish  people,  was  to  exclude  it  wholly  from  the  religion  of 
Christ  ;  accordingly,  he  declares,  p.  69,  that  "  this  doctrine  of 
righteousness  through  a  Redeemer,  otherwise  called  the  righteous- 
ness of  faith,  is  the  radical  principle  of  revealed  religion,  from 
Genesis  to  Revelation,  and  is  the  substance  of  the  Gospel." 

In  this  statement  of  the  law  and  gospel,  I  perceive  a  wretched 
specimen  of  the  unwearied  endeavours,  which  have  for  years 
been  made  in  this  city,  to  establish  a  loathsome  system  of  selfish- 
ness and  Antinomianism  ;  to  pervert  the  faith  of  Christians,  and 
to  sap  the  foundations  of  truth.  I  beg  the'  reader  to  notice,  that 
this  view  of  these  fundamental  truths  involves  the  following  er- 
rors, and  I  shall  leave  him  to  estimate  their  magnitude. 

1.  The  law  of  God  requires  no  creature  to  love  God  with 
solicitude.  If  the  Doctor  mistook  the  meaning  of  the  term  solici- 
tude, and  thought  it  conveyed  the  idea  of  supreme  love  of  God, 
I  would  recommend  it  to  him  to  recall  and  suppress  this  edi- 
tion of  his  sermons,  till  he  can  have  time  to  study  the  import 
of  language  ;  or,  at  any  rate,  to  defer  publishing  the  remaining 
volumes,  of  which  there  seems  to  be  a  dignified  hint  in  his 
preface,  till  he  can  peruse  Johnson  or  Walker.  I  think  either 
of  these  steps  would  save  him  some  solicitude.  He  speaks  of 
Christ's  exact  conformity  to  the  law.  I  hope  he  does  not  ima- 
gine that  Christ  loved  God  with  "  unceasing  solicitude,"  &;c.  &c. 

2.  The  law  of  God  required  that  a  man  love  his  neighbour 
as  himself ;  and  so  far  from  limiting  the  extensiveness  and  force 
of  that  affection,  by  the  peculiar  design  of  the  Jewish  economy, 
which  would  suppose  the  duty  to  expire  with  that  economy, 
and  be  vague  and  unmeaning  while  it  lasted — or,  by  the  pecu- 
liar character  of  the  Jewish  people,  which  would  absolutely  re- 
duce it  to  nothing,  would   annihilate  it  altogether ;    the  require- 

19 


218 

inent  had  no  relation  to  the  Jewish  economy,  or  character  of  the 
Jewish  people.  And  no  pretence  was  ever  more  absurd  or 
false,  than  the  one  here  set  up,  for  the  purpose  of  cancelling  the 
second   great  command  in  the    law,  or   destroying  its  obligation. 

3.  The  Antinomian  is  known  for  his  opposition  to  all  moral 
virtue  ;  and  for  setting  up  faith,  as  every  thing  in  religion :  and 
vet  his  faith,  as  much  as  he  makes  of  it,  is  but  a  wretched  patch 
of  mysticism,  and  a  suitable  instrument  of  self-deception.  How 
many  degrees  from  this  is  the  Doctor's  idea  of  gospel  religion  ?  He 
allows  the  Christian  no  righteousness  but  imputed  righteousness. 
He  allows,  indeed,  that  before  man  fell  he  was  bound  by  an 
obligation  of  moral  or  personal  holiness,  but  as  a  sinner  he  strips 
him  of  all  ability — and,  as  a  redeemed  sinner,  removes  him  in- 
finitely distant  from  the  department  of  moral  virtue  ; — describes 
that  whole  department  in  the  most  degrading,  loathsome,  and 
sickening  terms,  as  consisting  in  base  and  selfish  love  to  God, 
and  a  love  to  men  circumscribed  by  the  narrow  and  perishing 
barriers  of  the  Jewish  economy,  and  the  still  worse  character  of 
the  Jewish  people  :  in  short,  he  profanes  the  temple  of  rational, 
moral  virtue  and  holiness,  by  something  worse  than  swine's  flesh ; 
fills  it  with  loathsome  deformity,  and  disgusting  filth,  to  prevent 
all  return  to  it  forever — and  then  most  pompously  declares,  that 
the  righteousness  of  faith  is  the  radical  principle  of  revealed 
religion,  from  the  beginning  of  the  Bible  to  the  end,  and  the 
substance  of  the  gospel. 

I  ask  the  stated  hearers  of  this  gentleman,  how  long  it  is  since 
they  have  heard  him,  in  an  elaborate  pulpit  efl^ort,  endeavour  to 
show  that  religion  does  not  consist  in  love,  but  in  faith  ? — in 
which  he  strove,  with  all  his  might,  to  make  out  that  love  to 
God  and  men  is  a  merely  legal,  antiquated.  Old  Testament, 
''  Jewish  economy"  affair  ? — in  which  he  was  at  much  pains 
to  scatter  over  the  fair  and  glorious  field  of  moral  virtue  the 
crudities  of "Antinomian  pollution?  Many  intelligent  persons, 
who  are  not  only  judges  of  doctrine,  but  of  logic  and  sermon- 
izing, who  may  chance  to  see  these  remarks,  will,  I  trust,  re- 
member something  about  that  sermon. 

How  long  shall  the  blind  be  led  by  the  blind  ?  How  long 
shall  prejudice    and    error   usurp  the  throne   of    reason;     nay, 


219 

usurp  the  awful  province  of  divine  instruction,  and  lead  their 
willing]votaries  to  remediless  perdition  ?  Reader,  these  are  no 
trifles,  and  it  looks  but  too  much  like  the  fearful  business  of 
groping  in  the  dark  after  an  unknown  Saviour — like  seizing 
some  of  the  ghostly  phantoms  that  glimmer  there,  and  holding 
it  forth  as  the  object  of  faith.  To  make  righteousness  without 
hoHness,  and  a  religion  without  goodness,  has  ever  been  the 
desideratum  of  wicked  men  ;  and  when  any  project  to  this  ef- 
fect has  been  set  on  foot,  however  absurd,  however  monstrous, 
it  never  fails  of  finding  its  advocates   and  admirers. 

The  righteousness  of  faith  (if  that  phrase  be  properly  under- 
stood) forms  certainly  an  important  article  in  Christian  doctrine, 
as  it  refers  directly  to  the  pardon  and  justification  of  the  sinner. 
That  act  of  grace  by  which  the  sinner  is  pardoned  and  justi- 
fied before  God,  will  ever  be  remembered  with  eternal  grati- 
tude and  praise  by  all  the  redeemed ;  nor  will  it  be  remem- 
bered, but  in  connection  with  its  proper  grounds,  the  atone- 
ment and  work  of  Christ,  by  which  alone  it  is  brought  about. 
But  is  there  nothing  in  religion  but  pardon  and  justification  ? — 
nothing  but  faith  by  which  that  pardon  and  justification  is  re- 
ceived ?  It  is  painful  to  perceive  how  men  run  distracted — in- 
to what  wild  extremes  they  are  hurried  in  pursuit  of  a  favourite 
hypothesis.  The  redemption  of  a  sinner  is  a  glorious  and  a 
most  gracious  work  of  God ;  but  the  sinner  is  redeemed,  par- 
doned, justified,  restored,  that  he  may  become  a  good  subject 
of  God's  great  kingdom — may  be  reinstated  in  holy  and  perfect 
love  forever. 

There  is  but  one  true  religion  in  God's  kingdom,  as  there  is 
but  one  law,  and  but  one  God.  The  moment  a  sinner  is  bom 
again,  he  is  in  that  religion  ;  he  is  born  hito  it.  For  he  that 
loveth  is  born  of  God,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth 
in  God,  and  God  in  him.  Faith  is  an  important  act,  which  ra- 
ther leads  to,  than  makes  up,  die  body  of  religion.  Faith  can 
hardly  be  called  a  principle,  in  any  sense  ;  it  is  a  particular 
act  of  a  creature,  and,  as  far  as  relates  to  the  intellect,  has  for 
its  object  certain  particular  acts  of  God — I  mean  the  work  of 
atonement  and  redemption.  There  will  be  no  faith  in  heaven ; 
in  that  glorious  world  faith  will  be   swallowed   up  in  vision  ;  and 


220 

that  which  in  this  world  gives  faith  its  moral  value  and  excel- 
lence, is  the  sole  consideration  that  it  works  by  love,  and  in 
that  way  becomes   holiness  or  virtue. 

The  justifying  power  or  efficacy  of  faith  arises  from  the  sim- 
ple consideration  of  its  being  the  sinner's  rational  and  hearty 
acquiescence  in  the  salvation  God  has  provided  for  the  sinner. 
Of  course,  as  far  as  the  understanding  is  concerned,  as  far  as 
faith  is  the  mere  assent  to  the  evidence  of  facts,  there  is  no 
more  virtue  in  it  than  in  any  other  assent  to  the  understanding. 
But  when  the  understanding  believes  in  the  record  God  has 
given  of  his  Son,  and  the  heart  cordially  receives  that  record, 
and  joyfully  confides  in  it,  that  faith  becomes  saving,  because 
the  sinner  then  "  receives  Christ,  and  rests  upon  him  alone  for 
salvation,  as  he  is  offered  in  the  gospel." 

Faith  does  not  derive  its  justifying,  or  saving  power,  from  cer- 
tain mystical  qualities,  or  nameless  properties  it  contains  ;  and 
those  who  talk  about  the  implantation  of  divine  principles, 
which  no  mortal  can  conceive  of,  and  the  constitution  of  mysti- 
cal and  spiritual  unions  which "  no  one  can  describe,  deceive  their 
hearers,  if  not  themselves.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  faith 
by  considering  its  opposite,  unbelief ;  which  is  in  general  hatred 
and  rejection  of  the  truth.  The  great  object  of  redemption  is 
to  recover  the  sinner  from  his  ruined  state— to  make  him  holy 
and  happy ;  and  on  the  sinner's  part,  it  is  necessary  for  him 
to  understand  the  plan  of  redemption,  or  so  much  of  it  as  relates 
immediately  to  his  case  ;  to  approve  of  it  in  his  heart,  to  receive 
it,  and  acquiesce  in  it,  by  obedience. 

There  is  but  one  sort  of  holiness,  or  moral  goodness,  in  God's 
kingdom.  Creatures  who  have  that,  are  like  God,  and  are  in 
the  image  of  God.  God  is  love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love, 
dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him.  Hence,  as  fallen  man  is  in 
a  state  of  enmity  to  God,  and  of  supreme  self-love,  a  great 
change  is  necessary  to  restore  him  to  G  id's  favour.  This  change 
is  celled  a  second  birth :  a  man  must  be  born  again,  i.  e.  he 
must  undergo  an  entire  change  of  heart,  from  hatred  to  love. 
Hence,  saith  the  scripture,  "  he  that  loveth  is  born  of  God,  an  d 
he  that  loveth  not,   knoweth  not  God,  for  God  is  love."     "  And,'* 


221 

saith  the  same   apostle,  "  we  know  that  we  have  passed  from 
death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren." 

While  the  sinner  perceives  the  nature  and  grounds,  and  ap- 
preciates the  value  of  pardon  and  acceptance  before  God,  his 
emotions  of  gratitude  can  be  surpassed  by  nothing  but  his  inde- 
scribable and  overflowing  love  and  admiration  of  the  infinite 
glory  and  loveliness  of  the  triune  God,  manifested  in  all  ways, 
and  by  all  means,  before  his  creatures. 

The  notion  that  faith^  or  "  the  rigliteousness  of  faith,"  is  the 
grand  principle  of  religion,  is  of  a  piece  with  all  the  selfish  scheme. 
It  seems  to  intimate  that  the  sinner  cares  nothing  about  any 
thing  but  his  own  salvation  ; — perceives  nothing  else,  regards 
nothing  else ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  renders  religion  an  un- 
feeling, unmeaning  system  of  mysticism,  and  contradicts  the 
whole  body  of  revealed  truth. 

"  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."  Nothing 
can  more  beautifully  illustrate  this  grand  precept  than  the  so- 
lemn declaration  of  an  apostle  of  the  Christian  church,  when 
we  hear  him  say,  "  We  know  we  have  passed  from  death  unto 
life,  because  we  love  the  brethren  :"  when  we  hear  him  declar- 
ing, that  "  he  that  loveth  us  is  born  of  God  ;  nay,  dwelleth  in  God, 
and  God  in  him."  This  does  not  sound  much  like  saying, 
that  the  law  of  God  required  a  man  to  love  his  neighbour  as 
extensively  a.nd  forcibhy  as  the  design  of  the  Jewish  economy, 
and   the  character  of  the  Jewish  people  would  permit. 

Faith,    considered  as  the    sinner's    acceptance   with    Christ,  is 
truly  important  ;  and  the   principle   of  pardon    and    justification, 
on  the    ground  of  Christ's  merits,  no  Christian   will  be    disposed 
to  think  lightly  of,  but,  Reader,  the  gate  of  a  temple  is   not  the 
temple  itself.     Faith,  pardon,  justification,    &c.    considered    in 
their  causes,  nature,   grounds,   and  effects,    open  the  gates  of  life 
and  glory  to  the  sinner.     Christ  himself  says,  "  I  am    the   door," 
&;c.     And  this   he  spake,  no  doubt,  in  allusion   to   the  sinner's 
pardon   and  acceptance  with  God,  through  him.      He  will   be 
the  king  on  his  holy  hill  of  Zion,  will  eternally   reign  in   glory, 
and  be  the  glorious  medium  of  divine  manifestation,  to  all  eter- 
nity.    But  the  religion  of  heaven,  and  of  all  holy  creatures,  will 
be  one.    And  if  (rod  is  love,  it  will  be  a  religion  of  perfect  love. 
19* 


222 

No  mind  can  rise  to  a  conception  of  more  perfect  holiness  or 
felicity  than  this.  It  necessarily  excludes  all  injury,  and  all 
misery ;  it  necessarily  includes  all  wisdom,  all  amiableness,  all 
goodness,  all  perfection. 

A  moment's  attention  to  the  bible  idea  of  religion  will  show, 
that  the  author  of  the  above  definition  of  faith,  and  the  right- 
eousness of  faith,  entertains  but  a  scanty  and  miserable  notion 
of  it.  I  hope  and  trust,  in  the  mercy  of  God,  that  the  feelings 
of  his  heart  contradict  his  theoretical  definitions.  Faith,  as  ma- 
king any  part  of  religion,  is  but  the  consequence  of  local  cir- 
cumstances, and  a  particular  character,  which  will  one  day  cease.- 
The  principle  that  one  being  is  justified  by  the  merit  of  another, 
though  certainly  forming  a  most  illustrious  display  of  divine 
mercy,  is  not  a  standing  rule  of  divine  government ;  is  neither 
universal  nor  perpetual  in  its  application;  but  is  the  method 
adapted  by  the  infinite  mercy  of  God  to  the  recovery  and  re- 
storation of  sinners  ;  who,  when  once  restored,  shall  lack  nothing 
of  that  personal  holiness  and  perfect  moral  rectitude  in  which 
holy  creatures  stand  before  God  without  a  mediator.  Their 
union  to,  and  redemption  by,  Christ ;  or,  perhaps  more  properly, 
the  promise  and  purpose  of  God,  may  secure  them  from  the  darr- 
ger  of  a  future  rebellion,  but  will  not  stand  them  in  stead  for  per- 
sonal holiness,  or  moral  purity. 

fSt.  Paul  differs  very  essentially  from  this  writer  in  his  idea 
of  faith,  and  evidently  considers,  and  expressly  declares  it,  inferior 
to  charity.  '•  Though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove 
mountains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing.  And  now  abideth 
faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three — but  the  greatest  of  these  is  char- 
ity." O  no,  Paul,  you  are  greatly  mistaken  for  once :  Dr.  J.  B. 
R.  says,  that  faith  is  much  the  greatest. 

Whether  the  reader  will  consider  it  as  descending  too  low 
to  go  into  verbal  criticism,  I  cannot  say,  but  the  temptation,  just 
at  this  moment,  is  too  strong  to  be  resisted.  The  Doctor  says  that 
the  law  requires  that  a  man  love  his  neighbour  as  extensively 
and  forcibly  as  the  Jewish  economy  would  permit,  &c.  To 
love  any  person  extensively  is  a  phrase  not  very  easy  to  under- 
stand, unless  he  means  from  head  to  foot.  A  man  travels 
extensively,  sees  extensively,  &c.  ;  but  I  never  saw  any 
person   who   loved    extensively.      Perhaps   he    refers    to  some 


22S 

practice  under  the  Jewish  economy.  But  when  he  tells  about 
loving  forcibly,  I  am  utterly  beat ;  it  seems  to  resemble  an  as- 
sault vi  el  armis.  Among  all  the  fervid  and  rapturous  phrases 
of  chivalry,  I  believe  it  was  never  thought  of.  I  have  heard  of 
loving  sincerely — ardently — vastly — distractedly — outrageously — 
terribly — infinitely — but   never  forcibly. 

I  shall  close  this  number  by  considering  a  mistake,  which  the 
Doctor  says  some  believers  fall  into  ;  and  that  in  few  words.  He 
says,  vol  ii.  p.  230.  "  The  mistake  under  which  some  believers 
(meaning  Hopkinsians)  labour  is,  that  it  is  not  lawful  to  regard 
our  personal  interest  in  matters  of  religion,  any  further  than  the 
value  which  icc  possess  in  the  scale  of  being ;  or,  in  other  words, 
that  we  must  be  willing,  if  our  value  be  so  low,  to  relinquish  our 
personal  interest,  and  with  it  our  all,  for  those  who  possess  more 
value  than  ourselves.'''* 

If  any  person  by  reading  this,  can  tell  what  the  mistake  is,  1 
shall  be  glad.  Does  he  mean  that  some  believers  have  adopted 
a  false  rule  of  valuation,  and  that  this  is  their  mistake  ?  He 
lays  down  no  rule :  he  poises  their  personal  interest  against 
their  comparative  value.  He  puts  things  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  fulcrum  which  ought  to  be  on  the  same  side.  What  is  the 
mistake  of  some  believers  ?  Why,  ihey  say,  "  it  is  not  lawful  to 
regard  our  personal  interest,  in  matters  of  religion,  any  further 
than  the  value  which  we  possess  in  the  scale  of  being."  It 
seems,  then,  that  it  is  lawful  to  regard  our  personal  interest  fur- 
ther than  our  value,  &;c.  But  tliis  means  nothing.  What  does 
he  mean  by  '•''further,'''  an  adverb  of  place  or  locality  !  The 
sentence  is  unintelligible.  Did  ever  any  one  institute  compari- 
son between  his  personal  interest  and  his  value  in  the  scale  of 
being  1  Is  there  a  child  who  does  not  know  that  they  are  equal  ? 
It  is  a  comparison  between  himself  and  himself  Yet  this  meta- 
physician has  found  out  that  a  believer  whose  value  is  equal,  say, 
to  ten  thousand,  may  regard  his  personal  interest  ^^  further,''^  i.  e. 
at  15  or  20  thousand;  and  he  is  under  "  a  mistake"  if  he  does 
not  do  it.  A  queer  mistake  !  This  eternal  squinting  at  self-inte- 
rest, through  logic,  and  through  absurdity — through  thick  and 
thin,  I  abhor. 

I  know  of  but  one  correct   rule  of  valuation,   and  that  is  to 


224 

value  every  thing  la  God's  kingdom,  according  to  its  real  worth : 
and  is  that  a  mistake  ?  Perhaps  the  Doctor  means  to  say,  that  the 
mistake  'of  some  believers  consists  in  this,  viz.,  they  hold  that 
they  must  surrender  their  personal  interest,  when  it  becomes 
incompatible  with  the  personal  interest  of  those  more  valuable 
in  the  scale  of  being  than  themselves.  If  there  be  any  meaning 
in  what  he  says  about  "  the  mistake,^''  it  must  be  this,  though  he 
does  not  say  it.  But  wherein  is  the  mistake  of  this  sentiment  1 
If  there  be  two  interests,  a  greater  and  a  less^  which  are  incom- 
patible with  each  other,  is  it  a  mistake  to  hold  that  the  less  ought 
to  be  given  up  for  the  sake  of  the  greater  ?  If  there  are  two 
vessels  at  sea,  one  containing  a  hundred,  and  the  other  a  thou- 
sand souls,  and  one  or  the  other  of  them  must  be  lost  at  sea ; 
would  any  man  be  at  a  loss  to  say  which  of  them  ought  to  sink? 
A  wonderful  mistake,  indeed  !  ! !  If  ray  neighbour's  value,  in  the 
scale  of  being,  be  equal  to  a  hundred,  and  mine  equal  to  ten, 
and  the  personal  interest  of  one  or  the  other  of  us  must  be  given 
up,  is  it  difficult  to  say  whose  ought  to  be  given  up?  Suppose, 
for  example,  that  the  Doctor  himself  was  worth  a  hundred,  and  I 
but  ten,  and  the  interest  of  one  or  the  other  of  us  must  be  given 
up,  and  the  Doctor  himself  was  to  set  in  judgment  on  the  question 
— would  he  not,  with  his  usual  volubility,  say,  "  I  am  worth  ten 
times  as  much  as  he,  therefore  the  less  must  be  sacrificed  to  the 
greater  ?"  And  suppose,  finally,  I  myself  were  to  be  the  judge 
of  that  question,  would  my  interest  in  the  matter  alter  the  nature 
of  justice?  Ought  I  to  save  ten,  and  destroy  a  hundred,  because 
the  ten  are  mine  ?  Reader,  read  and  judge. 

But  how  does  the  Doctor  make  this  wonderful  mistake  appear  ? 
His  argument,  which  ought,  at  least,  to  make  him  master  of  the 
magicians,  is  worthy  to  be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance,  as 
a  specimen  of  triangular  metaphysics.  He  takes  up  a  whole 
large  octavo  page  in  saying  that  we  have  no  "  graduated  scale" 
whereby  to  measure  the  value  of  each  other.  And  what  then  ? 
Who  says  we  have  ?  Does  our  want  of  a  "  graduated  scale"  to 
measure  the  comparative  value  of  men  alter  or  impair  the 
above-mentioned  rule  of  valuation  ?  The  governor  of  the  world 
has  that  scale  of  valuation  always  before  him  ;  and  he  has  given 
us  reason  and  sense,  or,  at  least,  some  of  us,  to  perceive  the 


925 

above  rule  of  valuation  to  be  equitable  and  necessary  to  be 
used  in  all  cases  where  a  less  object  comes  in  absolute  compe- 
tition with  a  greater.  For  no  other  reason  does  he  punish  the 
wicked,  but  because  their  happiness  is  absolutely  incompatible 
with  the  happiness  of  an  infinitely  greater  sum  of  being. 

Which  of  all  the  believers,  (Hopkinsians  he  might  say,)  whom 
he  accuses  of  a  mistake,  ever  supposed  that  we  had  in  our  hands 
the  *'  graduated  scale  ?"  But  we  can  perceive  and  demon- 
strate, the  principle  of  equitable  valuation,  and  of  its  applica- 
tion to  all  cases,  where  a  greater  and  a  less  good  stand  in  com- 
petition or  repugnancy  to  each  other.  But  his  most  curious  ar- 
gument, to  make  out  the  "  mistake "  is,  that  if  a  believer  in 
fact,  could  make  this  valuation — "if  on  fair  impartial  examination 
of  the  pretensions  of  others  and  his  own,  he  is  constrained  to 
judge  that  he  is  of  more  value  than  others,  and  claims  his  right, 
as  such,  he  will  be  considered  vain,  assuming,  and  arrogant,  by 
all  who  understand  human  nature.''^  A.  wonderful  stroke,  in- 
deed ! — What  if  he  is  considered  "  vain,  assuming,  and  arrogant, 
by  all  who  understand  human  nature,  does  that  help  to  prove 
the  mistake  ?"  If  his  judgment  be  correct,  as  the  writer  grants, 
it  is  the  judgment  of  God  ;  and  eternal  justice  will  keep  him  in 
countenance  though  "  all  who  understand  human  nature  think 
him  vain,  arrogant,  and  assuming." 

But,  would  not  his  argument  have  appeared  better  if  he  had 
said,  "by  all  who  do  not  understand  human  nature?"  Fori 
am  sure  that  no  man  who  understands  human  nature  could 
think  him  vain,  arrogant,  and  assuming,  for  claiming  his  rights 
which  resulted   from  a  fair  impartial   comparison   and  valuation. 

The  sum  of  the  argument,  provided  sense  can  be  extracted 
from  a  series  of  sentences,  which;  as  they  stand,  amount  appa- 
rently to  nothing,  is, 

1.  That,  where  two  interests,  a  greater  and  a  less^  are  abso- 
lutely repugnant  to  each  other,  that  the  less  must  be  sacrificed 
to  the  greater,  is  a  "  mistake." 

2.  This  mistake  is  made  out  by  two  grand  arguments  ;  first, 
that  mankind  have  no  "  graduated  scale "  of  valuation  ;  and, 
secondly,  that  if  they  had,  and  could  absolutely  discover  which 
the  greater  and  which  the  less  interest  was,  it  would  not  do  for 


226 

them  to  give  a  just  and  equitable  decision,  for  fear  of  bein^ 
thought  "  vain,  arrogant,  and  assuming,"  by  all  who  understand 
human  nature.     "  A  Warburton  in  controversy  !  !  !  " 

On  page  282,  the  Doctor  is  so  good  as  to  tell  us  whence  this 
mistake  orignates.     A  very  clever  thing  in  him. 

"  The  mistake  of  which  I  am  speaking,"  says  he,  "  originates 
in  the  idea  that  virtue  or  holiness  consists,  not  m  choosing  and 
performing  every  duty  in  its  place,  but  merely  in  the  love  of 
being,  in  general."  An  origin  worty  of  the  "  mistake  !"  I  ask 
the  reader,  in  what  respect  these  two  definitions  of  virtue  are 
inconsistent  with  each  other  ?  Does  not  he  who  loves  being,  in 
general,  perform  every  duty  in  its  place  ? — and  who  so  likely  as 
he  to  do  it  ?  Does  not  God  love  being,  in  general  1  God  is 
love  ; — but  love  must  have  an  object;  and  what  does  God  love? 
Is  not  the  love  of  being  a  duty  in  every  Christian  ? — and  does 
not  he  who  loves  being,  in  general,  do  that  duty  "  in  its  place  ?" 
And  does  not  he  who  loves  God,  and  angels,  and  men — yea, 
his  friends,  and  his  enemies,  do  all  these  duties  in  their  places  ? 
What  duty,  my  good  Doctor,  is  not  included  in  love  ;  since  love 
worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour,  and  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law  ? 
But,  Reader,  Reader,  the  secret  of  ail  this  metaphysical  bungling, 
and  Jesuitical  twisting,  for  argument  it  eannot  be  called,  still  lies 
behind.  There  is,  in  all  this  harangue  about  the  "  mistake,"  no 
case  stated — nothing  made  plain — nothing  refuted — no  mistake 
discoverable  at  the  mast-head  with  a  first-rate  spy-glass.  Though 
supremely  miserable  and  contemptible  in  point  of  argument, 
as  every  reader  must  perceive,  there  was  a  design  in  it  ;  which 
design  did  not  fail  of  its  effect.  The  design  was  to  impress  the 
minds  of  the  hearers  of  that  sermon,  that  certain  people  held 
to  monstrous  errors  : — to  make  them  believe  that  these  people 
pretend  to  carry  about  them  "  a  graduated  scale,"  to  measure 
every  one's  value  by;  that  when  they  have  found  that  one 
man  is  more  valuable  than  another,  they  pretend  that  the  man 
of  minor  value  must,  of  course,  surrender  up  all  his  religious 
rights  or  interest  to  him  who  is  of  superior  value ;  and  that 
without  any  apparent  motive,  reason,  cause,  or  provocation, 
but  merely  because   the  other  is  of  most  value. 

And  for  the  origin  of  this  wondrous  "  mistake,"  what  is  it  I 


227 

Why,  some  people  hold  that  virtue  does  not  consist  in  doing 
every  duty  in  its  place^  but  in  the  love  of  being,  in  general.  Gog 
and  Magog !  what  metaphysics.  Suppose  the  love  of  being,  in 
general,  is  a  duty,  do  they  not  do  it  in  its  place?  Does  not  he 
who  loves  God  supremely,  and  his  neighbour  as  himself,  love 
being,  in  general,  and  do  duty  in  its  place  ?  And  will  any  one 
deny  that  that  is  the  first  of  all  duties?  Whoever  does  that, 
does  the  sum  of  duty,  for  love  is  the  fuliilling  of  the  law.  From 
whom  are  we  to  expect  the  performance  of  duty  in  the  detail, 
if  not  from  him  who  is  thoroughly  imbued  in  the  first  grand  prin- 
•iples  of  duty  and  virtue  ? 

"  Since,  then,"  continues  the  Doctor,  p.  284,  "  it  is  obviously 
impracticable  to  ascertain  the  precise  value  of  different  persons, 
why  should  we  tamper  with  the  moral  sensibilities  of  our  nature, 
by  making  our  impartial  love  to  them  the  test  and  evidence  of  a 
gracious  state  ?"  Was  ever  a  declaration  so  barefaced,  or  so  impi- 
ous ?  More  than  this  could  scarcely  have  been  expected  from  the 
pen  of  Thomas  Paine.  It  is  an  open  and  bold  attack  on  the  law 
of  God. 

"  Since,  then."  The  reader  perceives  this  to  be  an  inference. 
But  what  conclusion  does  he  draw  from  what  premises  ?  He 
had  been  arguing  that  some  were  in  a  mistake,  because  they 
supposed  that  a  little  being  must  give  up  all  his  interest  to  a 
great  one,  merely  on  account  of  his  superiority  ;  and  without 
giving  the  reader  a  glimpse  of  any  rational  opinion  ever  held 
by  any  mortal,  or  confuting  it  by  one  rational  argument:  in 
short,  he  effectually  tangles  down  three  or  four  pages  of  words 
and  sentences,  and  only  enables  the  reader  to  conjure  out  the 
idea,  that  he  is  trying  to  overthrow  some  horrible  Hopkin- 
sian  error,  and  then  comes  this  inference,  in  nowise  connected 
with  any  thing  preceding,  that  since  we  cannot  measure  the 
value  of  beings,  therefore  we  must  not  tamper  with  the  sensi- 
bilities of  our  nature  by  making  impartial  love  to  our  neigh- 
bour an  evidence  of  grace.  He  that  loves  his  neighbour  as 
himself  loves  him  impartially,  and  the  phPQse  can  mean  nothing 
else.  All  this  senseless  jargon  of  several  pnges  has  for  its  solo 
object  to  destroy  this  precept  of  the  law  ;  since  he  begins,  by 
saying,  that  precept  required  a  man  to  love  his  neighbour  as 


228 

extensively  and  forcibly  as  the  design  of  the  Jewish  economy, 
and  the  character  of  the  Jewish  people,  would  permit :  a  complete 
annihilation  of  it,  as  to  Christians  ;  and  closes  by  declaring,  that, 
to  require  a  man  to  love  his  neighbour  impartially,  is  a  useless 
tampering  with  the  sensibilities  of  his  nature. 

If  this  is  not  tampering  with  the  law  of  God,  I  do  not  under- 
stand the  meaning  of  the  term. 

I  trust  I  have  redeemed  my  pledge,  in  relation  to  my  first  al- 
legation, to  wit,  that  correct  instructions  are  not  given  in  the  tri- 
angular pulpits  of  the  city.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  say  that  they 
preach  no  truth.  Their  sermons  are  not  without  excellent  para- 
graphs ;  and  these  occur,  as  observed  in  a  former  number,  when, 
forgetting  themselves  and  their  theories,  they  give  a  loose  to 
their  better  feelings,  and  break  fairly  out  of  the  triangle.  They 
then  are  known  sometimes  to  tamper  with  a  man's  selfish  sensi- 
bilities, so  far  as  to  point  out  to  him  his  duty,  his  obligations, 
his  danger,  and  his  remedy.  But  so  long  as  they  preserve 
self-consistency,  and  keep  to  the  triangle,  no  matter  whether  it 
be  scalene,  isosceles,  equilateral,  or  rectangular,  their  instructions 
are  incorrect. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  IV. 

A  Letter,  addressed  to   two  distinguished  memhers  of  the  Jersey 
Presbytery,  the  Rev.  Dr. ,  and  the  Rev.  Dr. ; 

Rev.  Sirs, 

Though  the  reign  of  superstition  and  astrology  is  past  away, 
and,  with  it,  the  beilief  of  fortunate  and  unfortunate  days,  yet 
you  have  doubtless  observed,  that  states  and  empires,  and  the 
most  important  institutions,  both  civil  and  religious,  have  their 
crises,  their  moments  of  highest  interest  and  import,  on  which 
their  destiny  turns,  and  from  which  may  be  traced  their  misfor- 
tunes or  felicity — their   prosperity  or    decline.     I  cannot  but  fsel 


229 

strongly  persuaded,  and  by  indications  which  to  me  appear  in- 
dubitable, that  the  days  now  passing  are  critical  and  momentous 
to  the  interests  and  future  prospects  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  America,  of  which  you  are  distinguished  members.  If  it 
should  be  doubted  whether  the  present  time  affords  any  indica- 
tions which  are  specially  ominous,  my  impressions  still  derive 
some  support  from  the  broader  ground  that  every  day,  and  all 
times,  are  important  in  their  influence  on  all  temporal  institu- 
tions, which  are  seldom  stationary,  but  are  always  waxing  or 
waning  in  their  interest  and  prosperity. 

The  origin  and  progress,  the  situation  and  prospects,  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  this  coimtry,  are  happy  beyond  all  ex- 
ample, and  present,  to  the  contemplative  mind,  an  object  be- 
yond all  parallel  in  the  annals  of  time.  I  say  nothing  to  the 
disparagement  of  other  churches  ;  and  there  are  others  for  which 
I  feel  a  high  respect,  and  a  sincere  affection  ;  and  I  most  cor- 
dially congratulate  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  equal  privileges 
and  pleasing  prospects. 

The  Presbyterian  church,  in  her  origin,  resembles  that  of  the 
nation  in  which  she  is  embosomed,  and  under  whose  umbrage- 
ous boughs  she  enjoys  protection  and  repose.  And  if  by  her 
origin  is  intended  the  form  she  now  bears,  the  same  generation 
witnessed  both  events,  and  is  not  yet  past  away.  As  to  her 
progress,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  say,  she  now  embraces  several 
Synods,  and  between  thirty  and  forty  Presbyteries.  The  Mi- 
nutes of  the  General  Assembly  now  lie  before  me,  in  which  I 
perceive  that  thirty-two  Presbyteries  attended  her  last  session. 

Her  origin  and  progress  have  been  pacific — have  resulted 
solely  from  the  influence  of  sentiment,  and  the  progress  of  con- 
viction. And  I  adore  and  bless  God,  that  she  has  been  as  far 
from  the  disposition  as  the  ability  to  increase  her  numbers  by 
coercion,  or  enforce  her  principles  by  the  arm  of  civil  power. 
Her  situation,  as  far  as  temporal  things  are  concerned,  promises 
every  thing  which  can  be  the  rational  objects  of  hope  and  ex- 
pectation. Extending  through  the  fairest  climates,  she  embraces 
a  respectable  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  the  wil- 
derness, and  she  connects  these  extremes  through  inteumediate 
towns  and  flourishing  villages  over  a  wide  country.  Her  tem- 
20 


230 

poral  interests    are   rising   with  the  fortunes  and  resources  of  a 
young,  enterprising,  and  prosperous  nation. 

But  her  ultimate  prosperity  depends  on  far  other  and  higher 
considerations.  Whatever  may  be  the  increase  of  her  wealth 
and  numbers,  her  decline  will  commence  with  the  decline  of 
holiness  and  vital  religion — with  the  decline  of  sound  doctrine 
and  Christian  discipline.  Her  prosperity,  therefore,  is  essentially 
connected  with  the  effectual  influence  of  the  spirit  of  God,  in 
the  conversion  of  souls,  and  the  addition  of  her  numbers  of  per- 
sons of  that  description.  Hitherto  she  has  been  highly  favoured, 
even  in  this  respect  ;  and  as  far  as  we  can  judge,  or  have  a  right 
to  judge,  Christ  himself  has  been  her  light — has  walked  in  the 
midst  of  his  golden  candlesticks,  and  has  supplied  them  with  holy 
oil  and  heavenly  fire. 

This  Church,  spreading  her  branches  to  the  east  and  west, 
and  north  and  south,  resembles  "  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers 
of  waters ;"  and  when  the  prospects  of  her  future  enlargement, 
grounded  on  the  rising  fortunes  of  this  yet  infant  nation,  and  the 
encouragement  to  hope  that  God  will  bless  and  prosper  her, 
are  considered,  her  friends  and  children  cannot  but  rejoice,  and 
ascribe  glory  to  the  Redeemer,  who  has,  in  so  short  a  period, 
caused  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  to  blossom  like  the 
rose. 

This  institution,  so  young  and  beautiful,  so  flourishing  and 
fair — whose  towering  height,  majestic  form,  and  just  propor- 
tion, are  discernible  from  distant  parts  of  the  earth,  is  viewed 
by  other  eyes  than  those  of  children  born  into  the  kingdom  of 
light  and  peace — than  those  of  friends  who  "  prefer  Jerusalem 
above  their  chief  joy  ;"  and  whose  most  fervent  prayer  is,  that 
"  peace  may  be  within  her  walls,  and  prosperity  within  her 
palaces."  Other  desires  are  awakened  than  those  which  seek 
only  God's  glory  advanced  in  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  in  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  Christ's  church.  Eyes  burning  with  ambi- 
tion, and  aching  in  search  of  the  slightest  elevation,  as  a  footing 
to  begin  to  scale  the  steep  and  slippery  ascent,  are  now  scru- 
tinizing her  avenues,  attempting  her  thresholds,  and  knocking  at 
her  doors. 

I  shall  leave  you,  gentlemen,  to  judge  for  yourselves  what  in- 


231 

Toads  they  have  made  upon  "  liberties"  so  anxiously  spied 
out  already — what  avenues  they  have  explored — what  posts  and 
stations  they  have  seized ;  or  whether  there  has  been  any  thing 
like  this,  or  nothing  at  all.  But  you  surely  will  not  find  fault  with 
the  assertion,  that  such  things  are  soon  to  be  expected  in  the  nat- 
ural course  of  events ;  and  judging  from  all  past  experience,  and, 
shall  I  say,  present  appearances,  must  now  be  in  their  incipient 
state. 

"It  seems  very  reasonable  to  believe,"  says  Dr.  Withe r- 
spoon,  "  that  as  human  things  are  never  at  a  stand,  a  church 
and  nation,  in  a  quiet  and  peaceable  state,  is  always  growing  in- 
sensibly worse,  till  it  be  either  so  corrupt  as  to  deserve  and  pro- 
cure exterminating  judgments,  or,  in  the  infinite  mercy  of  God, 
by  some  great  shock  or  revolution,  is  brought  back  to  simplicity 
and  purity,  and  reduced,  as  it  were,  to  its  first  principles."  This 
remark,  made  by  that  great  writer,  in  application  to  the  church 
of  Scotland,  cannot  be  questioned ;  and  is  justified  by  the  his- 
tory of  all  churches  and  nations,  and  by  none  more  than  that  of 
the  primitive  church. 

This  deterioration  of  nations  and  churches  often  proceeds  by 
slow  and  imperceptible  degrees,  and  springs  from  latent  causes. 
Nothing  is  more  arduous  than  an  attempt  to  stay  its  progress  ;  it 
is  like  resisting  the  force  of  a  mighty  torrent,  because,  as  the  same 
writer  observes,  whoever  goes  so  far  as  to  intimate  his  belief 
that  a  church  is  progressing  in  corruption,  will  not  fail  to  draw 
upon  himself  the  resentment  of  all  the  abettors  of  that  corrup- 
tion. Indeed,  the  disease  must  be  demonstrated  before  the 
methods  of  cure  can  be  exhibited.  And  those  who  are  corrupt 
themselves,  and  busily  and  zealously  employed  in  spreading 
that  corruption,  will  not  fail  to  vindicate  themselves  by  what- 
ever weapons  come  in  their  way. 

Nor  is  the  progress  of  error  and  corruption  always  slow :  a 
generation  quickly  arose  that  knew  not  Joseph.  And  we  see,  in 
sacred  history,  the  same  congregation  who  adored,  and  wor- 
shipped, and  covenanted,  before  the  dreadful  glories  of  the  God 
oi  Israel  on  Mount  Sinai,  but  a  few  months  after  paying  vile 
homage  to  a  golden  calf,   even    at   the  foot  of  that   mountain. 

I  siiall  neither  shun  nor  justify  any  inferences   that  may  be 


232 

supposed  to  arise  from  this  general  strain  of  observations.  Cha- 
rity hopeth  all  things  ;  and  I  fervently  hope  that  there  is  not  a 
general  prevalence  of  corruption  in  the  church.  But  there  are 
certain  local  facts  which  are  calculated  to  excite  alarm — which, 
I  trust,  you  will  not  think  unworthy  of  your  consideration. 

Knowing  whom  I  address,  I  deem  it  needless  to  spend  time 
in  definitions  or  nice  distinctions.  For  several  years  past  there 
has  been,  in  various  places,  an  increasing  opposition  to  the 
strain  of  doctrine  and  sentiments  commonly  denominated  Hop- 
kinsian.  At  the  present  time,  or  within  a  few  months,  ground 
lias  been  taken  on  that  subject,  at  which,  all  those  who  gene- 
rally adhere  to  that  doctrine,  are  greatly  alarmed  and  shocked. 
Direct  information  has  been  given,  in  the  form  of  accusation, 
against  several  young  men,  holding  those  sentiments,  with  a 
view  to  impede  their  settlement,  and  prevent  their  preaching  in 
certain  places. 

One  has  been  informally  cited  to  appear  before  his  Pres- 
bytery, though  at  a  great  distance,  to  answer  to  the  charge  of 
preaching  heresy.  And  I  need  only  say,  that  the  sentiments  he 
preached  are  such  as  you,  gentlemen,  have  been  preaching  and 
maintaining  for  many  years,  and  that  with  power  and  success. 
A  whole  synod  has  made  a  firm  stand,  and  boldly  and  expressly 
condemned  Hopkinsianism,  as  "  heresy,  and  that  whereby  the 
enemy  of  souls  would,  if  it  were  possible,  deceive  the  very 
elect." 

Corresponding  with  these  particular  acts,  a  combined  and 
extensive  influence  has  been  used,  and  is  using,  to  give  the  public 
mind  a  general  sentiment  of  abhorrence  and  indignation  against 
that  strain  of  doctrine.  And  these  methods  of  opposition  have 
been  used,  with  great  eflTect,  in  many  places,  by  which  a  tone  of 
feeling  has  been  wrought  up,  of  a  grade  but  a  little  below  direct, 
vigorous,  and  organized  persecution. 

It  will  be  easy  to  say,  that  no  person  need  profess  himself  to 
be  a  Hopkinsian,  or  expose  himself  to  this  kind  of  censure  and 
opposition.  And  it  is  certainly  true,  that  I  have  never  called 
myself  by  that  name,  nor  do  I  know  of  any  class  of  people  who 
have  ever  styled  themselves  so. 

But,  gentlemen,    the   spirit  of  this  controversy    aims  not    at 


233 

words,  but  truths.  There  are  three  or  four  grand  characteristics 
of  doctrine  at  which  the  whole  weight  and  violence  of  this  storm 
are  pointed.  The  man  who  comes  out  in  these,  is  at  once 
branded  as  a  Hopkinsian,  and,  as  you  see,  condemned  as  a 
heretic.  These  points  are  general  atonement,  the  offer  of  sal- 
vation to  all — a  probationary  state — moral  depravity,  or  inability, 
or  laying  the  bar  to  the  shiner's  salvation  wholly  in  his  will;  and 
a  religion  above  all  selfishness.  You  would  even  be  surprised 
to  know  that  for  advancing  any  of  these  points,  for  even  so 
much  as  once  condemning  selfishness,  and  setting  up  God's 
glory  above  all  creature  considerations,  a  man  is  accused  of 
many  dangerous  and  latent  errors — of  heresy.  Let  him  but 
advance  the  idea,  that  the  sinner  is  barred  from  salvation  by 
his  own  voluntary  rejection : — let  him  but  invite  all  men  to 
come  to  Christ,  assuring  them  there  is  full  provision,  and  he 
falls  irrevocably  under  all  this  censure  and  obloquy. 

Be  not  misled  by  the  supposition,  that  this  opposition  is 
levelled  at  any  of  Hopkins',  or  Emmons',  or  any  other  man's  pe- 
culiar notions,  with  which  you  yourselves  might  chance  to  dif- 
fer. No,  Gentlemen,  the  opposition  is  aimed  at  the  grand 
pillars  of  that  noble  and  imperishable  frame  of  doctrine 
which  you  have  laboured,  through  all  your  years,  to  establish 
and  propagate  ;  doctrines,  which  I  am  consoled,  and  more  hap- 
py than  I  can  express,  to  say,  you  have  often  seen  attended  with 
demonstration  of  the  spirit,  and  with  power,  under  your  own 
labours,  and  among  your  respective  flocks  : — doctrines,  in  whose 
efficacy  and  saving  influence  many  of  your  hearers  will  rejoice 
with  you  to  eternity. 

It  is  somewhat  rare,  that  any  of  our  young  men,  or  old  men, 
have  entered  into  any  of  the  peculiar  distinctions,  or  sentiments, 
advocated  by  certain  ministers  at  the  eastward.  It  is  not  com- 
mon that  close  trains  of  metaphysical  reasoning  have  been  re- 
sorted to,  either  here,  or  further  south,  by  those  censured  as 
Ilopkinsians.  They  have  generally  confined  themselves  to 
plain  and  simple  discussions  of  the  most  important  truths. 

Yet,  such  are  the  consequences,   and  such  things  a  day   has 
brought  forth.     It  is  for  you.  Reverend  and  beloved  Sirs,  to  consi- 
der whether  the  evil  has  not  grown  to  be  of  sufficient  magnitude 
20» 


234 

and  induced  a  state  of  things  to  require  some  remedy.  As  an 
individual,  I  think  I  can  distinctly  foresee,  that  if  neglected,  it 
will  soon  mock  at  all  remedy.  If  long  neglected,  it  will  rise 
like  a  giant  from  its  cradle,  and  it  will  crush,  without  distinction, 
those  who  cherished  it  by  their  neglect,  and  those  who  brought 
it  forth,  by  a  tedious  gestation  and  parturition. 

I  surely  need  not  call  your  attention  to  the  fact,  that  the 
founders  of  the  Presbyterian  church  had  no  intention  of  ma- 
king this  strain  of  doctrine  a  breaking  point ;  and  .unless  I  am 
much  misinformed,  some  persons  of  this  description  were 
among  the  very  men  that  reared  the  fabric  into  its  present  form. 
However  that  may  be,  the  general  assembly  has  never  convened., 
since  her  formation,  without  members  of  those  sentiments  on 
the  floor.  None  of  the  judicatories  of  the  church,  as  I  have 
heard,  ever  were  so  intolerant  as  to  think  of  refusing,  or  delay- 
ing, ministers,  licentiates,  or  candidates,  on  that  ground  :  and  in 
the  general  assembly  itself  there  has,  for  years,  been  perpetual 
representations  of  the  New-England  churches,  the  common 
scource,  and  radiating  poinr,  whence  those  doctrines  spread. 

Among  the  uiiliappy  effects  likely  to  result  from  the  mea- 
sures recently  taken,  we  may  well  consider  the  gloomy  pros- 
pects which  threatened  to  spread  over  the  whole  body  of  profes- 
sing Christians  in  the  United  States.  How  terrible  and  shock- 
ing the  thought  that  Christian  brethren,  friends,  and  neighbours, 
united  for  years  in  the  strictest  bounds  of  amity,  must  be  severed 
under  the  charge  of  heresy.  Many  churches  must  be  torn  and 
agitated  with  fierce  disputes,  and  probably  rent  asunder  ;  churches 
must  be  cast  out  of  Presbyteries,  and,  perhaps.  Presbyteries  out 
of  Synods.  And  what  appearance  would  the  Presbyterian 
church  make,  torn  with  divisions,  distracted  by  disputes,  rent 
with  schisms,  palsied  by  animosities,  and  branded  with  the  name 
of  a  persecutor  1 

I  need  not  conjecture  what  your  feelings  would  be.  Gentle- 
men, oppressed,  grieved,  agitated,  in  the  contemplation  of  such 
a  wide  scene  of  desolation,  misery,  and  ruin.  All  connexion 
with  our  northern  and  eastern  brethren  must  fall  a  sacrifice  to 
this  fierce  demon  of  blind  persecuting  rage.  Nor  are  they  alone 
branded    with   tiie    odious    and   shameful    epithet  of  heretics. 


235 

Other  denominations,  even  Episcopalians  and  Methodists,  and 
all  who  in  any  way  have  incurred  Uie  appellation  of  Arminians, 
are  also  to  be  abhorred  and  contemptuously  put  under  the  ban 
of  heresy.  The  stern  eye  of  detestation  is  to  be  turned  upon 
them ;  the  finger  of  scorn  pointed  at  them  ;  the  lip  of  pride  and 
religious  bigotry  are  to  pronounce,  "  There  is  an  Arminian  here- 
tic— a  Hopkinsian  heretic." 

No  more  are  ministers  from  the  Congregational  churches  of 
New  England,  or  licentiates  from  the  same  quarter,  to  come  into 
the  bounds  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  to  be  received  with 
open  arms,  and  affectionate  welcomes  into  our  judicatories,  un- 
less they  abjure  the  doctrines  of  their  fathers,  and  shrink  them- 
selves into  the  sharp  and  narrow  limits  of  the  triangle  :  from 
which  may  heaven  preserve  them  ;  although  it  cannot  but  be  pre- 
sent to  the  mind  of  every  one  how  great  a  number  of  the  ministers 
now  within  the  bounds  of  the  General  Assembly  originated  from 
that  quarter. 

But,  Gentlemen,  perhaps,  yea  doubtless,  this  wall  of  separa- 
tion between  us  and  them  will  be  considered  by  some  as  de- 
sirable. Will  it  be  so  esteemed  by  you  1  Perhaps  the  arrival 
and  establishment  of  ministers  from  those  churches,  now  called 
heretics,  will  no  longer  be  thought  necessary  or  consistent  with 
Presbyterian  policy.  Perhaps  it  will  be  said  that  we  now  have 
an  established  ministerial  seminary,  therefore  it  is  time  that  the 
streams  from  that  northern  fountain  were  dried  up.  Sooner 
may  the  River  Euphrates  be  dried  up,  and  the  way  of  the  kings 
of  the  east  be  prepared.  But  at  the  name  of  a  ministerial  semi- 
nary, more  extensive  prospects  and  surprising  thoughts  rush 
upon  ray  mind. 

Are  we,  Gentlemen,  to  understand  that  young  men  educated 
for  the  church  in  that  seminary  are  to  be  imbued  in  this  intole- 
rance of  spirit — are  to  be  sent  forth  to  preach  down  Hopkinsian 
heresy  ?  I  seem  to  be  under  both  a  natural  and  a  moral  ina- 
bility to  believe  it ;  and  yet  the  difference  of  latitude  between 
them  and  Philadelphia  is  fearfully  small.  If  a  great  divine  in 
Philadelphia  has  placed  Hopkins  himself  in  hell ;  if  the  whole 
synod  of  Philadelphia  have  denounced   Ids  doctrine  as  heresy, 


23G 

I  fear  for  all  the  surrounding  atmosphere  of  that  region  : — it  has 
a  murky  appearance,  when  seen  from  a  distance. 

Analogical  reasoning  is  never  demonstrative,  and  sometimes 
fallacious  ;  yet  I  find  it  difficult  to  believe  that  even  the  late  act 
of  that  Synod  could  have  arisen  without  some  influence  and  coun- 
tenance ah  extra.  But  from  an  event  so  sudden,  so  unexpected, 
so  shocking,  so  contrary  to  the  whole  tenor  and  maxims  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  as  well  as  of  the  present  age,  I  scarcely 
know  what  to  think  or  what  to  look  for  next.  But  of  one  thing 
I  am  assured :  if  this  decision  of  the  Philadelphia  Synod  is,  in 
truth,  to  be  considered  as  the  prevailing  voice  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  as  a  body,  she  is  ruined. 

If  sound  policy  be  worthy  of  consideration,  never  was  act 
more  impolitic  than  to  excite  the  contempt  and  derision  of  im- 
mense numbers  of  people,  and  that  without  the  prospect  of  an- 
swering one  valuable  purpose  thereby.  You,  gentlemen,  will 
perceive  how  this  rash  denunciation  may  operate,  in  various 
ways,  against  the  increase  and  prosperity  of  this  whole  church  ; 
and  you  know  that  great  events  turn  on  small  pivots.  Will  peo- 
ple who  are  considered  as  Arminians^  or  Hopkinsians^  v/hen  they 
see  themselves  by  this  public  official  ukase  condemned  and 
stigmatized  as  heretics,  feel  an  inclination  to  unite  with  presby- 
terianism  ?  Will  they  view  them  as  a  lovely,  amiable,  affection- 
ate, and  generous  class  of  people,  with  whom  a  union  would  be 
desirable,  aside  from  all  sentiments  ?  Will  they  be  likely  to  listen 
to  their  arguments,  commencing  with  a  bull  of  excommunication  1 
It  was  precisely  thus  the  haughty  prelates  of  Rome  treated  Lu- 
ther, when  arraigned  before  them  for  his  trial.  Their  first  argu- 
ment was,  that  he  was  a  damnable  heretic,  and  must  abjure  his 
sentiments,  or  meet  his  doom.     This  was  not  metaphysical. 

Does  it  sound  well  for  an  august  Synod  of  Christian  ministers 
to  address  a  letter  to  all  their  churches,  announcing  that  a  set 
of  heretics  were  amongst  them,  and  must  be  forthwith  extirpa- 
ted and  exterminated?  Who  can  read  this,  and  not  perceive, 
that,  if  those  ghostly  lords  had  but  the  arm  of  the  civil  power 
to  enforce  their  decree,  there  would  be  additional  clauses  ?  Gen- 
tlemen, this  business  has  more  of  the  smell  of  fire  about  it  than 


237 

the  garments  of  Shadrach,  Meshech,  and  Abed-nego,  after  they 
came  out  of  the  furnace. 

But  if  this  act  be  impoHtic,  it  is  no  less  unjust.  For  I  ask, 
were  such  men  as  Dr.  Watts  and  Richard  Baxter  heretics  ? 
Men  are  condemned  as  heretics  for  holding  precisely  the  same 
general  strain  of  sentiments.  It  is  not  singular  and  particular 
tenets ;  it  is  for  holding  the  great  and  scripture  doctrine  of  a 
"  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,"  moral  depra- 
vity, <fec.  as  already  stated.  The  authors  of  the  Pastoral  Letter 
well  know  that  there  are  multitudes  in  the  communion  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  who  hold  to  these  sentiments,  and  would 
lay  down  their  necks  on  the  block  before  they  would  abandon 
them,  and  add  their  names  to  the  glorious  catalogue  of  martyrs 
for  the  truth.  Are  all  these  to  be  anathematized  as  heretics, 
and  proceeded  against  as  such,  miless  they  abjure  their  senti- 
ments ?  The  requisition  would  be  as  unjust  as  the  revocation 
of  the  edict  of  Nantz,  and  ought  to  stand  recorded  on  the  same 
page  of  the  history  of  persecutions.  It  does  not  equally  affect 
men's  property,  but  is  equally  levelled  at  the  liberties  of  con- 
science. 

The  attempt  to  justify  this  measure  by  an  appeal  to  our  con- 
fession of  faith,  and  by  alleging  that  these  men  differ  with 
that  confession,  you  well  know,  gentlemen,  how  to  appreciate. 
For  myself,  I  consider  it,  not  as  the  voice  of  the  syren,  which 
is  said  to  be  pleasant,  but  as  the  roaring  of  a  lion  who  has  of 
old  "  learned  to  catch  prey  and  devour  men ;"  it  is  the  voice 
of  bigotry  and  intolerance  ;  it  is  the  universal  and  everlasting 
watch-word  against  improvement  and  reform.  "  The  form  of 
sound  words,"  that  scripture  phrase,  for  ever  pressed  into  the 
same  inglorious  service,  is  much  insisted  on  in  this  Pastoral  Let- 
ter, and  the  pointed  meaning  it  is  used  to  convey  ought  to  be 
sickening  to  every  Christian  and  man  of  sense.  I  call  to  your 
mind,  gentlemen,  that  it  is  not  many  centuries  since  Gallileo 
and  Copernicus  were  condemned,  because  they  had  departed 
from  "  the  form  of  sound  words,"  viz.  for  teaching  what  they 
had  discovered  in  natural  philosophy,  that  the  sun  stood  still,  and 
the  earth  revolved. 

In  subscribing  to  the  confession  of  faith,  my  views  were,  I 


238 

trust,  not  dissimilar  to  the  views  of  those  who  compiled  it.  I 
viewed  it  as  a  noble  system  of  doctrine,  but  as  the  work  of  fallible 
men,  and,  of  course,  by  no  means  infallible  or  perfect,  or  to  be 
regarded  as  divine  law.  I  had  never  any  idea  of  substituting  it 
for  the  word  of  God,  or  laying  it  by  the  side  of  the  sacred  ora- 
cles, as  of  paramount  authority,  at  which  all  inquiry  was  to  stop, 
and  disputation  cease.  I  found  myself  perfectly  supported  in 
these  impressions  of  that  book,  by  the  preface  to  the  first  edition, 
if  I  mistake  not,  in  which  this  is  frankly,  and  in  the  most  ingenu- 
ous manner,  declared.  It  was  never  in  the  dreams  of  its  au- 
thors to  set  it  up  as  the  sovereign  arbiter  of  conscience ;  or  that 
any  deviation  from  any  points  therein  contained  were  to  be  stigma- 
tized as  deviations  from  the  eternal  standard  of  truth,  or  subject 
those  who  deviated  to  censure  and  excommunication. 

I  confess  I  have  been  of  late  frequently  shocked  and  disgusted 
by  perceiving,  on  certain  occasions,  all  reference  to  any  higher 
authority  dropped,  and  solemn  reference  made  to  that,  as  if 
clothed  with  supreme  authority,  and  imposing  irrefragable  obli- 
gation— as  *'  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony."  I  say,  I  have 
been  shocked  as  often  as  I  have  seen  any  propensity  to  such  a 
course  since  the  doctrine  of  human  infallibity  has  been  suf- 
ficiently abused,  and,  I  should  imagine,  sufficiently  exposed  and 
derided. 

You,  gentlemen,  cannot  but  be  aware  of  the  impossibility  and 
absurdity  of  setting  up  any  human  standard,  by  which  im- 
mense numbers  of  people,  learned  or  unlearned,  shall  square 
down  their  faith  to  every  sentence  and  sentiment  of  it,  even  to 
every  jot  and  tittle.  And  could  such  a  point  be  achieved,  which 
yet  never  was,  since  men  were  on  the  earth,  and  which,  from 
the  very  nature  of  the  human  mind,  is  impossible,  it  could  be 
desirable  upon  no  other  supposition  than  that  of  the  absolute 
perfection  of  the  standard.  But  where  the  system,  dignified  by 
the  name  of  standard,  is  confessedly  the  work  of  fallible  men, 
and,  of  course,  may  fail  of  rectitude  in  various  respects,  it  would 
be  as  useless  as  impracticable,  as  absurd  as  impossible,  to  pro- 
cure an  absolute  unqualified  assent  to  all  its  parts  and  particles 
from  every  member  of  the  church. 

And   what  would   be  the  consequence,  if  certain  individuals 


239 

should  come  to  a  firm  and  conscientious  conviction,  that  certain 
parts  of  it  were  wrong,  but  were  still  willing,  nevertheless,  to 
abide  by  it  as  their  confession  of  faith  1  And  such  cases  will  of- 
ten happen.  The  history  of  all  churches  will  answer  this  ques- 
tion. Let  the  history  of  the  Greek,  Roman,  English,  Scottish, 
and  Genevan  churches  answer.  These  unhappy  men  must  be 
persecuted  for  conscience  sake,  and  their  names  cast  out  as  evil. 
Thus  did  Calvin  himself:  and  while,  as  yet,  the  unhallowed 
thunders  of  Rome  had  not  done  murmuring  round  his  head,  he 
is  drawing  the  cord  of  spiritual  tyranny  round  the  people  of 
Geneva,  and  violently  squaring  down  every  man's  conscience 
to  his  own  views.  But  the  objector  will  say,  Ah,  Calvin  was 
right,  and,  therefore,  might  resort  to  such  measures.  Yes — yes — 
Calvin  was  right,  and  his  object  was  to  force  every  one  to  be 
right  also,  or  he  would  serve  them  as  he  did  Servetus. 

A  reference  to  the  authority  and  practice  of  the  church  of 
Scotland,  so  highly  sanctified,  in  the  view  of  some  persons, 
gives  no  relief  to  my  fears,  and  reflects  no  happy  light  on  our 
future  destinies.  Rather  may  heaven  deliver  us  from  following 
in  the  rocky  paths  that  church  has  trod :  and  I  will  only  say, 
she  is  most  eulogized  by  those  who  know  the  least  about  her, 
and,  on  no  account,  is  a  model  for  us  to  follow.  It  is  true,  that 
neither  a  pope  nor  a  monarch  has  been  her  head,  but  that  has 
not  always  prevented  her  from  being  a  hydra,  and  a  haughty 
invader  of  the  rights  of  conscience.  She  has  felt  the  influence 
of  an  aristocracy  as  dark  and  foggy,  as  bleak  and  barren,  as  her 
rugged  mountains  and  leafless  hills. 

I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  merits  of  the  church  of  Scotland. 
They  can  boast  of  great  and  illustrious  men,  whose  names  will 
be  among  the  brightest  ornaments  of  literature,  and  whose  use- 
fulness and  fame,  as  ministers  of  Christ,  have  rarely  been  sur- 
passed in  modern  Europe.  Nor  do  I  deny  the  merits  of  their 
doctrine  or  discipline,  as  comprehending  a  noble  body  of  theo- 
retical and  practical  wisdom.  May  we  be  able  to  copy  their 
excellencies,  and  shun  their  defects. 

It  would  be  presumption  in  me,  gentlemen,  to  undertake  to 
fluggest  a  course  of  conduct  to  you  in  the  present  juncture  of 
affairs ;  and    useless  to    attempt  to  conj^ture  what  course   you 


240 

will  pursue.  That  a  new  comet  has  appeared  on  our  horizon, 
whose  motions  are  rapid,  and  aspects  malign,  I  think  you  will 
not  deny ;  since  every  eye  can  see  it  without  a  telescope.  It 
matters  not  whether  you  say  you  are  Hopkinsians  or  not ;  you 
may,  indeed,  say,  that  you  are  not ;  for,  as  I  have  repeatedly 
said,  I  have  seen  but  few  persons,  in  my  day,  who  chose  to  adopt 
that  title.  The  strain  of  doctrine  in  which  I  myself  believe  I 
know,  perfectly  well,  neither  was  derived  directly  or  indirectly 
from  Hopkins,  and  it  is  very  probable  you  can  safely  say  as 
much.  Our  licentiates  are  accused  of  heresy,  and  driven  from 
places  where  there  had  been  flattering  prospects  of  speedy 
and  agreeable  settlements,  under  cruel  and  unjust  imputations ; 
and  the  synod  of  Philadelphia  has  raised  the  cry  of  heresy 
against  the  whole  strain  of  doctrine. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  wish  to  abridge  the  right  of  individuals, 
or  of  public  bodies,  of  promoting  the  scheme  of  doctrine  they 
approve  of;  or  of  opposing,  by  just  argumentation,  what  they 
dislike.  And  I  know  too  well  your  liberality  of  sentiment,  and 
magnanimity  of  soul,  not  to  be  sensible  that  you  take  equal 
pleasure  in  receiving  and  giving  charitable  and  Christian  in- 
dulgence. There  is  a  pleasure  in  this  mutual  forbearance  which 
infinitely  transcends  the  gratification  of  the  stern  bigot  while  he 
binds  the  conscience,  the  lord  of  our  actions — and  fetters  the 
tongue,  the  glory  of  our  frame. 

But  as  I  little  expected  to  hear  the  heaviest  and  last  censure 
of  the  church  hurled  at  the  sentiments  which,  from  my  soul,  I 
believe  to  be  the  eternal  truth  of  God,  so,  neither  do  I  believe 
that  you,  gentlemen,  can  hear  the  awful  reverberation  of  these 
thunders,  though  rolling  at  a  distance,  without  inward  horror 
and  astonishment.  I  presume  you  will  not  dissent  from  me  in 
the  opinion,  that  it  is  a  time  of  darkness  and  mournhig.  The 
language  of  prophecy  represents  the  fall  of  states,  nations, 
and  churches,  by  the  darkening  of  the  luminaries  of  heaven.  I 
do  not  say  that  this  church  has  fallen,  but  I  say  that  a  third  part 
of  the  stars  of  heaven  are  eclipsed ;  and  if  this  spirit  of  intole- 
rance and  persecution  shall  prevail,  and  maintain  her  ground  in 
this  church,  her  fall  is  near. 

I  have   neither  said,  nor   conceded  by  implication,   that  the 


241 

strain  of  doctrine  commonly  styled  Hopkinsian  differs,  in  any 
material  point,  from  our  confession  of  faith  ;  although  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia  express  an  ardent  hope,  that  "  the  time 
may  never  come  when  those  doctrines^  and  our  confession  of 
faith,  shall  be  considered  as  one  and  the  same  thing  ;"  but  I 
do  say,  and  I  do  feel  an  irresistible  conviction  of  its  truth,  that 
to  e  xpect  a  perfect  coincidence  of  opinion  in  every  article  and 
idea  of  this,  or  any  other  confession  of  faith  or  creed,  of  equal 
extent  and  particularity  from  any  considerable  number  of  peo- 
ple, is  to  expect  an  impossibility.  Such  expectations,  if  serious, 
can  be  the  offspring  of  nothing  but  ignorance  or  prejudice.  To 
require  such  a  coincidence,  as  a  term  of  admittance  or  continu- 
ance in  the  church,  would  be  madness,  and  would  not  fail  of 
consequences  the  most  deleterious  to  the  whole  body.  Unities 
of  that  kind  are  not  to  be  expected,  unless  the  days  shall  re- 
turn when  men  are  willing  to  sell  their  consciences  to  the  mother 
of  harlots,  for  the  privilege  of  drinking  the  cup  of  her  abomina- 
tions ;  or,  unless  the  morning  shall  break  forth  when  creeds, 
confessions  of  faith,  formularies,  and  liturgies,  some  more  and 
some  less  excellent,  but  all  imperfect,  shall  vanish  before  the 
sun  of  righteousness,  in  the  glory  of  the  latter  day. 

An  overt  act  of  impolicy,  in  one  of  the  highest  judicatories 
of  the  church,  whatever  might  be  its  nature  and  tendency,  can- 
not be  viewed  but  with  concern  by  every  benevolent  mind, 
however  disinterested  or  remote.  Bui  to  such  as  are  deeply 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  church  ;  to  such  as  desire  no- 
thing more  sincerely  than  its  purity  and  prosperity,  its  peace 
and  edification,  it  must  cause  emotions  of  deep  regret  and 
solicitude.  But  when  the  nature  of  the  measure  is  such  that 
its  impolicy  is  forgotten  in  its  injustice  and  cruelty  ;  when  we 
turn  from  the  generous  sensibility  of  the  disinterested  spectator  ; 
from  the  painful  sensations  of  those  whose  chief  enjoyment 
arises  from  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  church,  what  esti- 
mate are  we  to  form  of  the  feelings  of  those  who  are  the  vic- 
tims of  this  measure,  and  in  a  moment  to  be  prostrated  by  this 
rigorous  sentence  1  We  will  suppose  him  a  young  man  just  en- 
gaged in  the  saered  work  of  the  ministry ;  and  engaged  with 
all  his  heart,  and  all  his  talents,  to  promote  the  truth,  according 
21 


242 

to  his  best  views,  and  to  preach  the  gospel  as  the  instrument 
of  turning  souls  to  righteousness.  But  suddenly  he  is  accused 
of  preaching  heresy,  and  the  accusation  brought  home,  and  his 
condemnation  rendered  irretrievable  by  the  majestic  voice  of 
an  entire  Synod.  To  these  circumstances  add  the  rage  and 
triumph  of  his  enemies  ;  the  disappointment,  sorrow,  and  an- 
guish of  his  friends  ;  the  interest  that  will  be  awakened  in  his 
favour,  by  those  that  can  feel  pity  and  commiseration  ;  the  ar- 
rows of  malignity,  that  will  pursue  him  as  a  heretic,  apostate, 
hypocrite,  and  deceiver.  What  are  we  to  think  of  such  a  situa- 
tion ? 

Or  we  will  suppose  him  among  the  venerable  Fathers  whose 
whitened  locks  and  bending  form  show  that  his  labours  are 
nearly  past  ;  and  that  he  is  about  to  appear  before  the  Chief 
Shepherd.  He  is  condemned  as  an  heretic,  and  must  abjure  the 
doctrines  he  has  preached  for  many  years,  and  of  the  correct- 
ness of  whish  he  has  not  a  remaining  doubt,  or  must  go  to  his 
grave,  not  from  the  portals  of  the  charch  on  earth,  in  which  he 
has  long  and  successfully  laboured  ;  but  as  an  outcast,  a  vagrant, 
a  leprous  amputated  member,  too  corrupt  to  be  preserved  or 
healed,  must  drop  into  a  solitary  grave,  to  rest  in  disgraceful 
oblivion,  or  to  live  in  the  execrations  and  calumnies  of  remem- 
brance. 

And  when  I  consider  what  numbers  in  the  visible  commun- 
ion of  this  church  are  thoroughly  and  conscientiously  imbued 
in  this  strain  of  doctrine,  thus  rashly  condemned  ;  when  I  reflect 
on  the  spirit  of  tokration  and  Christian  liberty  so  gloriously  risen 
on  the  present  age,  like  a  ph<Enix  from  the  ashes  of  former  times, 
but  now  abused  and  insulted  before  the  sun ;  when  I  consider 
the  immense  and  venerable  body  of  clergy  to  the  north  and  eas* 
deeply  implicated  in  this  act,  and  condemned  by  this  sentence  ; 
when  I  know  that  these  have  been  the  doctrines  of  revivals, 
sanctioned  by  the  spirit  of  God  in  the  conversion  of  thousands 
of  souls,  I  shudder  in  view  of  this  act — I  tremble  for  its  conse- 
quences— I  fear  for  its  perpetrators. 

Gentlemen,  you  surely  will  not  differ  with  me  when  I  assert, 
that  if  God  has  ever  made  bare  his  arm  for  the  salvation  of  souls, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  truth,  it  has  been  under  the  preach- 


243 

ing  of  these  doctrines.  If,  since  our  forefathers  first  touched 
these  western  shores,  a  blessing  has  descended  from  the  Re- 
deemer's throne  to  his  church  in  this  new  world,  it  has  been 
under  the  ministrations  of  these  trutiis.  I  leave  it,  therefore,  for 
all  mankind  to  judge,  how  far  the  condemnation  of  these  doc- 
trines may  be  considered  as  "  fighting  against  God." 

If  an  act  so  contrary  to  the  liberal  and  charitable  dictates  of 
religious  toleration,  which  has  broke  forth  with  splendour  on 
the  present  age,  and  with  so  much  honour  and  felicity  to  the 
churcli  of  Christ,  shall  incur  the  just  contempt  and  reproaches 
of  men,  how  much  more  dreadful  will  be  His  displeasure,  be- 
fore whom  all  nations  are  as  nothing,  when  those  who  aspire  to 
the  blessings  of  his  covenant,  dare  to  affix  the  seal  of  their  im- 
pious curse  on  those  doctrines  on  which  he  has  fixed  the  seal 
of  his  high  and  unchangeable  approbation. 

Merciful  God !  in  the  day  of  thy  visitations,  0  remember  not 
our  iniquities  against  us,  for  thou  knowest  we  are  but  dust ! 

To  put  the  best  face  on  things  they  will  bear,  and  the  most 
favourable  construction  that  apathy  itself  can  propose,  or  the 
most  calm,  unsullied  and  charitable  mind  can  think  possible, 
let  us  suppose  that  none  of  the  violent  consequences  anticipat- 
ed will  follow  these  gloomy  indications  of  intolerance  and  per- 
secution ;  let  us  suppose  that  this  act  of  the  Philadelphia  Synod, 
and  these  collateral  measures,  to  keep  a  certain  strain  of  preach- 
ing, and  certain  men,  out  of  the  great  capitals,  Philadelphia  and 
New- York,  are  merely  designed  as  present  and  local  remedies  ; 
let  it  be  supposed  that  men  of  standing  and  established  views, 
though  holding  this  strain  of  doctrine,  will  never  be  molested, 
or  an  attempt  made  to  drive  them  from  their  stations — what 
then  ?  Is  this  a  complete  salvo  for  all  that  appears  ; — a  sopori- 
fic on  which  the  friend  of  evangelical  truth  can  slumber  on  in 
security  ?  What  will  be  the  amount  of  this  ?  And  whither 
does  this  index  of  hope  point,  as  the  end  of  all  troubles  ?  It 
points,  gentlemen,  to  this  :  that  henceforth  no  minister  or  licen- 
tiate is  to  gain  admittance  into  any  Presbyterian  vacancy  unless 
he  can  be  chopped  down  perfectly  into  the  three-square  shape ; 
nor  is  any  one  to  remain  there,  unless  stretched  or  clipped  to 
the   due  length  of  the  iron  bedstead  ;  especially  if  in,  or   near, 


244 

any  place  of  disLinction.  Perhaps,  indeed,  some  few,  in  the 
bosom  of  solitudes,  or  defiles  of  mountains,  will  not  be  pursued 
and  hunted  out  by  Dr.  Buckram's  letters  missive  ; — perhaps 
some,  here  and  there  one,  seated  in  alpine  declivities  and  fast- 
nesses— housed  by  glaciers,  and  surrounded  by  grottoes — cra- 
dled by  tempests,  and  serenaded  by  cataracts — curtained  by  the 
wilderness,  and  fraternized  with  wild  buffaloes,  may  be  let  alone 
awhile  ;  but  I  aver,  however  venerable  and  well  established — 
however  pious,  and  however  able,  if  placed  in  a  conspicuous 
station — if  the  eyes  of  Argus  can  discover  a  crevice  in  his  wall, 
or  the  hands  of  Briareus  can  enter  the  bar — if  the  Cyclops 
can  forge  a  bar  long  enough,  or  the  Titans  can  sway  it  down, 
they  will  pry  him  up,  and  work  him  out  at  last. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  friends  of  truth,  scouted  and  distressed, 
scattered  and  discouraged,  will  disappear,  or,  perhaps,  some 
will  be  won  over,  by  smiles,  titles,  or  promotion.  Ministers  and 
licentiates  from  the  New-England  states  will  perceive  every 
avenue  of  the  Presbyterian  church  shut  against  them  as  here- 
tics, and  will  turn  their  eyes  towards  other  fields,  where  the 
ground  is  not  pre-occupied  by  opposition.  And  fields  of  vast 
extent  are  indeed  before  them.  As  for  our  theological  semina- 
ry, it  will  be  in  the  hands  of  men  who  will  imbue,  if  possible, 
every  candidate  whom  they  shall  instruct  and  send  forth,  in  a 
deep  abhorrence  of  the  "  Hopkinsian  heresy ;"  and  every  one  will 
go  forth  under  a  full  impression  that  he  must  beat  down  the  odi- 
ous doctrine  of  disinterested  benevolence,  and  erect  selfishness 
on  its  ruin. 

For  precisely  the  same  reason  that  this  narrow  and  illiberal 
scheme  of  doctrine  is  vindicated,  as  making  a  part  of  what  is 
called  our  standard,  every  sentiment  differing  frOm  this  scheme, 
be  it  more  or  less  important,  will  be  condemned,  and,  with 
imposing  confidence,  censured  as  repugnant  to  our  confession 
of  faith.  The  advocates  of  error  will  not  be  slow  to  arm  them- 
selves with  ecclesiastical  censures  ;  and  spiritual  thunders  will 
be  hurled,  without  discrimination,  at  "  the  Hopkinsian  heresy," 
and  all  who  embrace  it. 

I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  say  that  the  Synod  of  Philadel- 
phia is  the  only  ecclesiastical  body    which  has   already   acted 


245 

upon  this  plan :  would  that  my  fears  were  of  that  ideal  class 
which  relate  to  evils  merely  possible  or  probable.  But  has  not 
this  humiliating  scene  been  acted  over  much  nearer  home  ?  And 
have  you  not  seen,  Gentlemen,  a  Presbytery  very  recently  re- 
fuse to  put  the  call  of  a  highly  respectable  congregation  into 
the  hands  of  a  young  clergymen  of  exemplary  piety  and  hand- 
some talents  ;  at  the  remonstrance  of  a  very  small  minority  of 
that  congregation,  comprising  not  more  than  one  fifth  of  the 
people,  or  of  the  property  of  the  congregation,  when  it  was  well 
known  that  their  only  objection  to  him  was  that  he  was  a  Hop- 
kinsian  ? 

It  is  true  this  very  considerable  minority,  legis  fictione,  were 
instructed  not  to   expose   the  nature  of  their  objection  against 

Mr.  G before  the  Presbytery,  i.   e.  in  foro  ecclesm ;  but  it 

is  equally  true,  that  every  member  of  that  Presbytery,  and  in 
foro  conscienticB^  knew  perfectly  well  it  was  because  he  was  a 
Hop,  as,  in  their  dignified  style,  they  called  him.  Moreover, 
legis  fictione,  this    Presbytery  were  not  to  know  the  grounds  of 

the  objection  of  this   one-fifth   minority  to  Mr.  G .     It  was 

quite  enough  for  them  that  one-fifth  objected  against  him,  while 
the  urgent  and  importunate  request  of  four-fifths   was   rejected  ; 

and  Mr.  G himself  was  rejected,  "  sine  delictOy  sine  crimine, 

sine  mali  sensu." 

This  congregation  appealed  to  the  Synod  of  New-York  and 
New-Jersey  for  relief  from  this  oppressive  act  ;  and  to  the 
honour  of  that  body  be  it  spoken,  the  Synod  reversed  the  de- 
cision of  that  Presbytery,  and  restored  to  the  congregation  their 

right  of  calling  Mr.  G to  be  their  minister.     But  did  it  end 

here  ?  Are  the  congregation  and  church  now  allowed  to  sit  down 
in  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  their  dearest  and  most  sacred  rights  ? 
What  do  we  next  see  ?  A  large  body  of  the  Synod,  headed  by 
the  very  man  whom  the  General  Assembly  has  set  at  the  head 
of  the  Theological  Seminary,  and,  what  is  remarkable,  the  man 
who  has  endeavoured  to  distinguish  himself  as  a  friend  to  repub- 
lican principles  and  the  rights  of  mankind,  rose  and  entered 
their  solemn  protest  against  this  decision  of  the  Synod,  and  en- 
couraged the  Presbytery  to  appeal  to  the  General  Assembly, 
which  they  accordingly  did.  This  protest  and  appeal  to  the 
21* 


246 

General  Assembly,  whatever  pretences  may  be  set  up,  must  be 
grounded  on  two  grand  principles  : 

1.  It  is  of  no  importance  for  a  Presbytery  to  know  what  the 
nature  of  the  objection  of  a  minority  may  be  against  a  minister. 
If  they  object  merely,  it  is  enough.  And  as  I  said  above,  it  will 
often  happen,  legis  Jictione,  that  they  must  not  know,  i.  e.  pre- 
tend to  know,  what  it  is.  This  principle  was  expressly  set  up, 
before  the  Synod,  by  the  learned  leader  of  the  protest.  He  said, 
that  a  Presbytery  was  under  no  obligation  to  "pump  and  sift 
out  the  objections  of  a  minority"  to  a  minister.  AVould  it  not 
have  been  more  appropriate  to  the  case,  had  he  said,  They  had 
better  draw  the  curtain  close,  and  keep  every  thing  snug,  than 
to  talk  about  pumping  and  sifting.  The  Presbytery  was  far 
from  a  disposition  to  pump  and  sift ;  it  was  more  their  object 
to  conceal  and  hide. 

2.  The  other  principle,  on  which  this  protest  and  appeal  are 
grounded  is,  that  a  m.ajority  of  voices,  even  of  five  to  one,  ought 
not  to  be  the  governing  principle  with  a  Presbytery;  that  though 
four-fifths  of  a  church  and  congregation,  holding  also  four-fifths 
of  the  property,  desire  leave  to  call  a  minister,  and  although  the 
nature  of  the  objection  of  the  other  fifth  is  wholly  unknown, 
yet,  in  such  a  case,  the  Presbytery  have  a  right  to  resist  the 
call.  These  are  the  principles  of  the  champions  of  liberty.  And 
had  there  been  three  instead  of  two,  I  should  have  compared 
them  to  the  three  frogs  which  came  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
dragon,  beast,  and  false  prophet  :  for  they  were  doubtless  as 
unclean.  I  appeal  to  the  unbiassed  sense  and  discernment  of 
the  public,  and  to  the  common  sense  of  mankind,  whether  it  be 
reasonable  or  decorous  that  a  minority  should  object  to  a  man, 
and  not  tell  the  world,  and  the  court  before  whom  that  objection 
is  brought,  what  that  objection  is.  And  as  to  the  grand  ques- 
tion, whether  a  majority  have  a  right  to  govern,  to  say  nothing 
of  other  nations,  or  of  man's  inalienable  rights,  it  is  the  great 
law  of  this  nation,  I  may  say,  both  in  church  and  state.  Any 
principle  or  rule  set  up  to  abolish  this  law,  will  not  fail  to  create 
a  most  odious  tyranny.  But  when  a  majority  mounts  up  to 
four  or  five  to  one,  both  in  numbers  and  property  ;  when  the 
resistance  of  the  minority  is   so  feeble  as  not  even  to  allege  any 


247 

accusation,  or  to  table  any  objection  of  an  explicit  form,  the 
Presbytery  that  shall  crush  and  silence  that  majority,  and  listen 
to  such  a  minority,  usurp  a  power  with  whicli  no  man,  or  body 
of  men,  on  earth  are   clothed    by  the  word  of  God. 

Moreover,  I  appeal  to  the  same   august  tribunal,  that  the    form 

of  opposition    employed  by   the    minority   against    Mr.    G , 

nay,    the    very    nature    of  that   opposition,    rather    speaks   xMr. 

G 's  eulogium.     Had    they  had  any  objection    to  him    as    a 

preacher,  or  as  a  man  ;  had  they  thought  lightly  of  his  talents, 
or  doubted  his  character ;  in  short,  had  there  been  any  con- 
siderable objection  against  him,  which  could,  with  propriety  or 
decency,  with  justness  or  safety,  have  been  mentioned  and 
urged  against  him,  the  minority  would  have  felt  no  delicacy  in 
declaring  it.  For,  indeed,  there  is  no  delicacy  in  a  transaction 
of  that  solemn  and  important  nature.  When  I  am  to  choose  a 
minister,  a  pastor,  a  teacher,  under  whose  instructions  I  am  to 
sit  down  for  life — if  I  know  of  any  just  reason  for  withholding 
from  him  my  suffrage,  I  shall  certainly  make  it  known  to  him, 
and  to  otliers  ;  and,  above  all,  to  that  judicatory  who  are  to  be 
influenced  by  it.  And  if  I  have  any  just  conceptions  of  the 
dictates  of  common  sense,  when  a  Presbytery  perceive  that  a 
very  great  majority  are  desirous  to  give  a  minister  a  call,  and 
a  small  minority  come  forward  and  object  to  the  measure,  but 
refuse  to  make  known  the  nature  of  their  objection,  that  it  can- 
not be  regarded  as  worthy  of  notice  by  any  judicatory.  It 
must  be  presumed  that  they  are  ashamed  of  their  own  objection, 
and  by  that  consideration  alone  are  prevented  from  declaring 
it.  And  I  suspect  this  was  not  far  from  being  the  case  in  the 
affair  of  Mr.  G . 

I  should  not.  Gentlemen,  have  been  thus  particular  in  this  de- 
tail, but  I  perceive  in  it  an  organized  form  of  opposition  to 
that  strain  of  doctrine  which  I  believe  to  be  the  truth,  and 
against  those    men    who    dare  to    preach   that   doctrine.     It  is 

perfectly  well     known  that   the   objection  to    Mr.    G was 

from  no  other  cause  ;  for  no  other  reason  did  the  minority  re- 
fuse to  state  the  nature  of  the  objection ;  and,  I  add,  for  no 
other  reason  did  the  Presbytery  refuse  to  pass  the  call  to  Mr. 
G .     Let  me  reverse   the  table,   and  1  shall  throw   convic- 


248 

tion  into  the  face  of  all  parties,  that  what  1  say  is  true.  Let  it, 
for  a  moment,  be  supposed  that  that  minority  had  been  Hopkin- 
sians,  and  objected  to  Mr.  G ,  do  you  not  think  their  objec- 
tions would  have  been "  pumped  and  sifted"  out  ?  Do  you  be- 
lieve, gentlemen,  that  that  Presbytery  would  then  have  resisted 
the  call?  Nobody  can  believe  it.  Do  you  believe  that,  in  that 
case,  you  would  have  heard  the  solemn  protest,  with  such  ten- 
der girdings  of  conscience,  against  the  reversing  act  of  the 
Synod,  and  the  solemn  appeal  which  is  to  carry  the  whole  bu- 
siness up  to  the  General  Assembly  1  I  say,  had  the  minority  been 
Hopkinsians,  and  the  Presbytery,  at  their  remonstrance,  arrest- 
ed the  call  of  such  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the  Synod — re- 
versed the  decree  of  the  Presbytery,  do  you  believe  you  could 
have  heard  the  same  voices  lifted  in  a  protest,  vindicated  by 
such  astonishing  principles  ?  Would  you,  in  that  case,  have 
heard  it  unblushingly  urged,  that  a  minority  may  object,  with- 
out reason,  yet  prevailingly,  against  a  minister,  while  a  majority 
of  five  to  one  shall  be  crushed  in  their  application  to  a  Presby- 
tery for  a  call  ? 

No,  gentlemen,  if  this  minority  had  been  Hopkinsians,  this 
whole  train  of  events  would  have  been  reversed.  We  should 
not  have  heard  a  pretty  face,  with  many  kind  simpers,  deplore 
the  fate  of  that  congregation,  yet,  with  solemn  pomposity,  de- 
clare, that  the  minority  must  be  supported,  and  the  majority  of 
five  to  one  crushed  and  silenced  before  them  ; — and  why  t  Be- 
cause that  is  the  proper,  just,  and  rational  course  of  the  thing. 
Let  me  not  shrink  from  the  truth,  which  is  eternal  and  impe- 
rishable :  it  was  because  they  wished  to  call  a  man  deemed  a 
Hopkinsian. 

In  this  shape  it  must  go  before  the  General  Assembly,  the 
supreme  Presbyterial  court  of  this  country.  And  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  men,  it  will  be  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  trial  of 
the  grand  question,  whether  a  church  and  congregation  shall 
have  a  right  to  settle  a  Hopkinsian  minister.  For,  with  men  of 
thought  and  discernment,  the  shades  of  difference  between  a 
majority,  five  to  one,  and  a  unanimous  call,  are  trifling  as  they 
relate  to  the  urgency  and  just  claims  of  that  call.  The  rights 
of  a  bare  majority  to  call  and  settle   a   minister,  even  when  an 


249 

almost  equal  minority  are  resolute  in  their  opposition,  and 
pointed  and  definite  in  their  objections,  have  rarely  been  ques- 
tioned ;  but  when  the  disparity  stands  five  to  one,  both  in  num- 
bers and  property,  it  forms  a  case  which  comes,  probably,  near 
to  a  level  with  the  ordinary  condition  of  calls — which  rarely  are 
unanimous. 

I  have   already   stated  that  the  nature  of  the  objection  to  Mr. 

G ,   though   understood,  was  kept   out  of   sight   before    the 

Presbytery.  I  will  here  say  nothing,  how  far  that  rule  of  civil 
courts,  which  admits  nothing  to  come  before  the  higher  court  of 
appeal  but  what  was  agitated,  both  as  to  matter  and  form,  in  the 
court  below,  is  proper  to  be  regarded  as  a  rule  in  the  church  of 
Christ,  though  I  will  not  disguise  my  fears  that  our  ecclesiastical 
judicatories  are  travelling  with  hasty  and  dangerous  strides  to- 
wards the  tedious  and  bewildering  forms,  the  technical  language, 
and  the  artful  sophistry  of  civil  courts,  and  I  suspect  that  many 
of  our  parliamentary,  legal,  and  courtly  phrases  would  strike  the 
ear  of  a  primitive  Christian,  or  an  apostle,  with  surprise.  How- 
ever that  may  be,   the  nature  of  the  objection  to  Mr.  G. , 

not  appearing  in  Presbytery,  or  Synod,  will  not  appear  in  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly.  Yet,  as  in  both  Presbytery  and  Synod  it  was 
well  understood,  so  I  trust  it  will  be  in  the  General  Assembly ; 
like  an  invisible  genius,  it  was  the  moving-spring  of  action  in 
the  Presbytery  and  Synod,  whether  the  ball  thrown  in  was 
marked  with  A.  or  C. ;  and,  of  course,  as  every  thing  goes  from 
the  lower  to  the  higher  court,  that  must  go  with  the  rest,  in  statu 
quo. 

But,  Gentlemen,  where  is  Mr.  G during  this  tedious  pe- 
riod of  "  the  law's  delay  ?"  What  is  the  condition  of  that  pa- 
rish and  congregation  ?  However  trifling  their  division  at  first, 
are  the  aspects  of  things,  which,  at  every  change,  become  more 
and  more  threatening,  calculated  to  compose  their  differences, 
and  to  soothe  their  contentions  ?  Exposed  to  the  rod,  first  of  a 
Presbytery,  then  of  an  extensive  and  venerated  Synod,  and  now, 
last  of  all,   of  the   General   Assembly,  a  body  extended   through 

the  continent,  Mr.   G must  possess  uncommon  fortitude  if 

he  be  not  depressed,  and,  perhaps,  discouraged.     He  well  knows 


250 

the  cause  why  this  storm,  which  must  finally  agitate  the  whole 
American  church,  in  relation  to  his  own  case,  has  been  set  in 
operation  against  him.  He  knows,  if  justice  had  been  done  him 
at  first,  that  the  persons  opposed  to  him  would  have  been  required 
to  explain  their  objections,  and,  of  course,  that  the  Presbytery 
would  scarcely  have  dared  to  resist  his  call,  or  if  they  had,  it 
would  have  been  done  above  board,  and  under  no  ambiguous  or 
fictitious  colourings. 

Gentlemen,  what  influence  will  these  proceedings  have  on  the 
minds  of  young  men  preparing  for  the  ministry,  in  all  parts  of 
this  country  ?  Are  we  to  believe  they  are  wholly  free  from  all 
selfish  feelings,  from  all  liability  to  be  warped  by  views  of  po- 
pularity, by  prospects  of  speedy  and  advantageous  settlements  ? 
Is  every  one  of  them  a  Luther,  a  Knox,  an  Edwards — ready  to 
face  all  opposition,  and  brave  all  dangers  for  the  cause  of  truth  7 
Are  they  all  in  a  situation  to  come  to  an  unbiassed  knowledge  of 
the  truth  t  These  are  serious  considerations,  and,  I  presume,  will 
have  their  due  impression  on  your  minds. 

That  truth  has  made  progress  in  this  country  is  as  evident  as 
it  is  that  God  has  poured  out  his  spirit  on  his  churches — is  as 
evident  as  it  is  that  religious  freedom  and  toleration  have  here 
first  showered  iheir  blessings  on  mankind.  The  same  spirit  is 
opposed  to  both,  and  is  equally  free  and  bold  to  declare  the 
latter  profane  licentiousness,  and  the  former,  error  and  delusion, 
and  a  departure  from  "  the  form  of  sound  words.''  The  sun 
from  a  cloudless  meridian  is  not  more  visible  than  that  a  pow- 
erful diversion  is  making  in  opposition  to  both,  and  is  beginning 
to  arm  itself,  not  with  evidence,  argument,  or  moral  suasion — 
not  by  addressing  the  understandings  and  consciences  of  men, 
but  with  the  varied  forms  of  personal  influence,  extensive  in- 
terests, and  ecclesiastical  censures — with  pecuniary  funds,  es- 
tablishments, and  institutions.  And  this  incessant  harping  on 
the  reformers,  and  doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  this  leaning 
towards  the  established  churches  in  Europe,  which  are  no  mo- 
dels for  us,  is  but  bringing  round  a  sweep  of  influence,  and  set- 
ling  up,  as  a  mark,  a  kind  of  "  unity  of  the  faith,"  which  is  for- 
ever  to   exterminate   all  freedom  of   opinion   and  inquiry,    and 


251 

eventually  all  liberty  of  conscience.  And  it  reminds  me  of  an 
anecdote  1  lately  read  in  the  life  of  Pizarro.  He  had  been, 
on  a  certain  occasion,  treated  with  great  hospitality  by  a  tribe 
of  Indians  ;  and  when,  some  time  after,  he  was  at  war  with  that 
tribe,  and  had  besieged  their  last  fortress,  his  generous  feelings 
wrought  so  upon  him,  on  recollecting  their  former  kindness, 
that  he  determined  to  spare  the  place,  and  forbade  his  soldiers 
plundering  it.  His  little  army  was  generally  pleased  with  the 
proposition,  especially  the  young  Castilian  warriors,  who  imme- 
diately resolved  not  to  put  the  people  to  the  sword,  nor  seize 
their  effects.  But  a  stern  inquisitorial  priest,  says  the  writer, 
knit  his  eyebrows  on  Pizarro,  and  replied,  "  What  !  are  you  then 
willing  to  let  these  abominable  idolaters  escape  with  their  ef- 
fects, and  not  bow  their  necks  to  the  yoke  of  the  faith  ?  No  ! 
ihey  shall  he  converted^  or  they  shall  die  !"  Pizarro,  fearing  to 
exasperate  this  holy  father,  was  compelled  to  yield  the  town  to 
the  sword,  and  to  the  rapacity  of  these  advocates  for  the  yoke  of 
the  faith. 

And,  gentlemen,  may  heaven  long  defend  us  from  the  yoke 
of  the  faith  worn  by  the  protestant  churches  of  Europe,  even 
the  best  of  them.  Their  churches  and  clergy  were  interwoven 
with  their  government,  and  the  state  was  made  an  instrument 
of  their  church,  and  the  church  a  tool  of  the  state.  Harpur,  in 
his  "  Observations,"  page  51,  remarks,  that  "  when  the  armies 
of  Bonaparte  entered  the  Seven  United  Provinces,  he  proceed- 
ed immediately  to  confiscate  the  property  of  the  Belgic  clergy, 
which  amounted  to  the  moderate  sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  dollars."  A  tolerable  good  living  for  the  honest 
Dutchmen,  by  which  they  have  made  the  yoke  of  the  faith,  no 
doubt,  very  strong,  and  as  comfortable  as  may  be. 

I  said  they  were   arming  themselves   with  the  means  and  in- 

flience  of  institutions,  of  which  the  rejection  of  Mr.  C as 

a  missionary,  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  number,  is  an  instance. 
And  although  the  leader  in  that  magnanimous  act  is  not  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church,  yet  he  is  a  member  of  one  of 
those  churches  whose  speedy  union  with  the  Presbyterian 
church  is  hailed  with  such  rapture  in  the  faiious  Pastoral  Letter 
of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia. 


252 

My  motive,  gentlemen,  in  these  particular  allusions,  is  to  show 
that  opposition  to  truth  is  concentrated  to  a  focus,  and  is  di- 
recting its  efforts  to  bar  the  way,  as  much  as  possible,  against 
ministers  and  licentiates  of  this  strain  of  doctrine ;  and  the  cases 

of  Mr.  C ,  of  Mr.  D ,  of  Mr.  F ,  of  Mr.  G ,  and 

of  Mr.  S ,  are  in  point,  and  shed    as  much  light    upon   the 

subject   as  they  do  darkness  upon  the  conduct,    the  management, 
the  intrigue,  resorted  to  on  those  occasions. 

Unless  it  be  presumed  that  every  youth  is  possessed  of  in- 
vincible firmness  and  incorruptible  integrity,  a  state  of  things  is 
fast  forming  which  will  be  too  great  a  trial  for  common  energy, 
talents,  and  fidelity  to  resist  ;  and  every  young  man  about  en- 
tering the  ministry  will  count  the  cost — will  see  at  once  what 
scheme  of  doctrine  must  render  him  acceptable,  popular,  and  a 
candidate  for  the  most  conspicuous  stations  ;  and  what  scheme 
will  expose  him  to  frowns,  opposition,  and  charges  of  heresy — 
will  even  prevent  his  receiving  a  call,  though  four-fifths  of  a 
congregation  were  disposed  to  give  it — will  expose  him  to  the 
censure  of  Presbytery,  Synod,  and,  perhaps,  the  General  Asssem- 
bly :  nay,  if  he  be  amicably  settled,  will  expose  him  to  be  un- 
dermined, slandered,  abused,  and,  perhaps,  ultimately  ejected. 
Under  these  circumstances,  which  part  will  he  take  ?  And  hav- 
ing been  swayed  by  interest  and  popular  favor,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  truth,  in  the  outset  of  his  career,  what  will  he  be  af- 
terward? A  tool  for  others  to  work  with,  till  he  finds  himself 
in  a  condition  to  use  such  tools  as  he  himself  once  was — a  trim- 
mer— a  weathercock ;  any  thing  which  the  pliant  qualities  of  a 
Proteus  can  be  wrought  into  ;  any  which  the  service  of  his  su- 
periors may  require,  and  every  thing  which  his  interest  and  am- 
bition may  dictate. 

But  motives  prior  to  all  these  will  be  effectually  laid  in  the 
way  of  young  men,  looking  towards  the  ministry.  They  must 
go  to  a  theological  seminary  :  and  to  the  honor  of  that  semi- 
nary be  it  spoken,  they  have  not  expelled,  as  yet,  for  holding 
correct  sentiments ;  but  from  the  appearance  of  things,  in  pro- 
gressu,  that  event  is  soon  to  be  expected.  The  principle  part, 
nay,  almost  all  who  receive  their  education  there,  come  out, 
thoroughly  and  finishedly  triangular.     They  go  forth  and  preach 


253 

all  the  points  of  imputation^  contended  for  by  any  one  :-^a 
limited  atonement — know  nothing  about  moral  inability,  and 
count  that  important  distinction,  as  a  most  promising  young 
divine  of  this  city  lately  declared  before  the  New- York  Pres- 
bytery, nothing  but  "  hodge  podge ;" — make  all  religion  to  con- 
sist in  faith — a  mystical  principle  above  all  creature  perfection, 
or  conception  : — disinterested  benevolence  a  scarecrow,  and  a 
little  selfishness  a  very  good  thing : — that  people  must,  by  no 
means,  be  willing  to  be  damned,  in  order  that  they  may  be 
saved : — that  moral  virtue  is  quite  an  Old  Testament,  Jewish 
economy,  Arminian  affair,  and  out  of  date  ;  metaphysics,  ugly 
things  : — that  people  must  love  Christ,  because  he  is  about  to 
save  them,  and  surely  they  would  be  very  ungrateful  if  they  did 
not  : — that  the  non-elect  will  be  condemned  for  not  believing 
that  Christ  died  for  them,  because  they  do  not  know  but  that 
he  did  die  for  them.  They  never  fail  to  impress  the  hearer  that 
he  is,  in  every  sense,  unable  to  do  his  duty,  yet  will  be  condemn- 
ed for  not  doing  it  : — that  he  ought  to  believe  in  Christ,  though 
faith  is  a  divine  principle  implanted,  and  can  be  given  to  none  but 
those  whose  debt  to  justice  Christ  has  paid  ; — that  men  are  moral 
agents  to  do  wrong,  but  not  to  do  right ;  and,  in  a  word,  that 
siniers  are  not  in  a  state  of  probation. 

Gentlemen, 

If  we  enjoy  the  honour  and  felicity  of  belonging  to  the  first 
nation  on  earth,  where  the  sacred  rights  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  have  been  fully  established — if  in  consequence  of  these 
peculiar  privileges,  accompanied  with  the  still  greater  blessing 
of  the  light  and  influence  of  God's  spirit,  progress  has  been 
made  in  religious  knowledge,  and  as  we  approach  nearer  to  the 
time  of  tho  consummation  of  the  glory  of  the  church  militant,  the 
Christian  church  has  gained  a  happier  remove  from  the  groun(te 
she  formerly  occupied,  entangled  with  civil  government  and 
polit^s ;  and,  on  the  confines  of  darkness  and  superstition,  shall 
we,  after  this,  retrace  our  steps,  and  return  back  into  Egypt,  or 
into  the  wilderness  of  Sin  1 

Is  this  the  strain  of  doctrine,  and  this  alone,  henceforth  to 
be  regarded  as  canonical  ?  Tlie  strain  every  man  must  adopt 
and  promote,  or  be  deemed  a  heretic,  and  a  revolter  from  our 
22 


254 

standard  1  Shall  our  young  men  who  deviate  from  this  be  re- 
jected as  missionaries,  prevented  from  receiving  calls  where 
congi-egations  are  disposed  to  call  them,  and  turned  away 
from  places  where  they  are  already  settled  ?  Shall  the  resources 
of  the  General  Assembly  be  called  forth  to  found  a  Divinity 
College,  to  promote  this  plan  of  instruction  1  Shall  dollar  socie- 
ties, cent  societies,  mite  societies,  be  organized  ?  Shall  con- 
tributions, donations,  and  every  mode  of  voluntary  taxation  be 
resorted  to,  in  all  parts  of  this  extensive  country,  to  erect  edifi- 
ces, institute  professorships,  scholarships,  and  all  other  kinds  of 
ships,  to  promote  this  distorted,  halting,  debasing,  scheme  of 
error  ?  Can  the  blessing  of  God  be  expected  to  follow  this  ob- 
vious retrogradation  ?  For  it  is  impossible  not  to  perceive  a 
driving  backward  in  the  strain  of  doctrine  and  discipline  in  many 
who,  by  their  forwardness  and  imposing  attitude,  in  all  our  judica- 
tories, would  fain  not  only  be  thought  leaders,  but  be  such  in  the 
most  absolute  sense  of  the  word. 

They  loudly  scoff  at  all  idea  or  notion  of  any  improvement 
in  doctrine  or  discipline,  as  made  in  this  country.  Though, 
doubtless,  if  religious  knowledge  and  doctrine  ever  made  any 
progress  in  any  country,  it  has  been  in  New-England,  that  land 
which  is  scarcely  named  in  connexion  with  religion  without  a 
sneer.  And  if  the  spirit  of  God  has  ever  been  poured  out  in 
religious  revivals,  it  is  there ;  yet,  at  those  revivals,  the  finger 
of  scorn  is  pointed,  and  the  sneers  of  contempt  are  not  wanting. 
I  do  not  say  that  the  seminary  will  support,  exclusively,  that 
scheme  of  doctrine  and  those  intolerant  and  destructive  mea- 
sures. I  can  only  judge  from  what  I  have  seen  and  heard,  and 
perhaps  a  full  experiment  has  not  been  made  ;  but  I  say  if  they 
do,  they  will  prove  a  scourge  and  not  a  blessing  to  the  church — 
will  draw  down  the  wrath,  and  not  the  smiles  of  heaven  upon  the 
whole  denomination. 

An  unknown  weight  of  responsibility  lies  on  the  founders,  di- 
rectors, and  instructors  of  that  Institution.  It  commits  the  in- 
terests of  a  rising,  and  hitherto  prosperous  church,  to  few  hands — 
I  fear  too  few.  The  training  of  a  ministry  shall  exert  an  influ- 
ence not  only  immediate  and  perceptible,  but  remote,  extend- 
ed, progressive,  and  without   end  : — it  has  the  power  to  purify 


255 

or  corrupt  the  doctrinal  and  moral  sentiments  of  a  nation,  and 
to  all  future  generations.  A.  corrupt  teacher  may  certainly  pro- 
ceed from  a  very  pure  and  correct  institution  ;  as  also  may  a 
very  correct  teacher  from  a  polluted  fountain  of  instruction. 
But,  generally  speaking,  the  scholar  will  be  like  his  master,  and 
a  variation   from   this  rule   is  generally  on  the  unfavourable  side. 

But  I  ask,  in  thesi,  i.  e.  merely  as  a  case  supposable,  what  if 
the  master  be  a  non  liquet  ?  What  if,  after  having  preached 
twenty  years  the  doctrines  of  general  atonement,  moral  ina- 
bility, universal  offers  of  salvation,  and  man's  probationary  state, 
nobody  knows  it?  What  if,  after  having  deeply  bewailed  the 
lax  practice  of  the  church,  for  years,  he  performs  prodigies 
in  converting  young  men  to  that  practice  ;  nay,  and  performs 
journeys  to  administer  it,  and  keep  its  adherents  in  countenance, 
lest  they  should  be  discouraged ;  thus  supporting  the  practice 
which  he  bewails,  and  defeating  the  practice  in  which  he  be- 
lieves ?  This  might  be  a  great  stretch  of  benevolence.  But, 
Gentlemen,  if  you  make  the  pillars  of  your  building  of  the  wit- 
low,  the  superincumbent  arches  must,  be  light  and  buoyant,  or 
they  cannot  be  sustained. 

Gentlemen,  I  perceive  a  current,  in  these  times,  whose  drift 
is  rapid,  broad,  and  strong.  I  have  stated  my  apprehensions 
freely ;  nor  have  I  a  doubt  that  they  are  just.  As  to  the  furious 
censures  that  many  will  hurl  at  these  suggestions,  I  regard  them 
as  chaff  ;  and  the  neglect,  which  others  will  consider  as  a  better 
revenge,  I  shall  not  feel.  I  have  as  much  at  stake,  in  these 
concerns,  as  any  person  living,  and  no  more  : — the  eternal  ap- 
probation of  God  is  to  be  gained  or  lost  by  us  all,  and  the  so- 
lemn hour  when  that  great  and  unalterable  decision  is  to  be  made, 
is  near  and  approaching.  Neither  the  reflections  contained  in 
this  or  the  preceding  numbers,  or  series,  are  the  offspring  of 
haste  or  passion ;  they  have  resulted  from  long  observation,  and 
deliberate  conviction.  The  drift  I  see  is  from  light  to  darkness — 
the  movement  is  retrograde  ;  and  if  the  golden  calf,  which  is  to 
lead  back  to  Egypt,  is  not  already  cast,  and  shown  to  the  camp, 
I  shall  be  glad. 

Your  talents,  your  long  experience,   your  conspicuous  stations, 
your  standing  in  the  public  confidence,  and  your  correct  senti- 


256 

ments,  are  pledges   which  the  church  holds,  that  your  exertions 
in  the  cause   of  truth  will  be  equally  distinguished  and  decided. 
I  am,  Gentlemen,  with  great  respect, 
your  obedt.  Servant, 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  V. 


It  is  done.  The  extraordinary  scene  which  has  agitated  the 
public  mind  for  some  time,  is  closed,  and  closed  in  a  manner 
which  ought  to  fill  every  pious  mind  with  alarm — every  inde- 
pendent mind  with  new  circumspection  and  resolution — eveiy 
generous  mind  with  indignation.  The  young  men's  Missionary 
Society,  in  this  city,  by  a  majority  of  160  to  90,  have  con- 
demned Mr,  C as   holding  heretical  doctrine,   on  the  sole 

ground  of  his  being  a  Hopkinsian.  Thus,  a  young  man  of  most 
unblemished  moral  character,  of  .  ardent  piety,  and  uncommon 
talents,  is  laid  under  the  odium  of  public  censure  ;  is  rejected  by 
the  missionary  board,  and  overwhelmed  with  all  the  disgrace 
which  the  ultimate  censure  of  that  society  can  carry  with  it  to 
every  extremity  of  the  Union. 

But  do  the  people  of  tliis  city  consider  what  this  censure  im- 
plies, and  how  far  it  extends  ?  Are  they  aware  that  it  extends  to 
a  very  great  proportion  of  professing  Christians  in  the  city  ?  It 
reaches  every  man  who  does  not  come  fully  up  to  the  horrible 
and  loathsome  restrictions  of  the  triangle  ;  to  every  man  who 
does  not  believe  the  whole  human  race  deserving  of  eternal  dam- 
nation for  Adam's  first  act ;  that  Christ  made  propitiation  for  none 
but  the  elect ;  that  all  men  were  not  only  condemned  for  Adam's 
first  act,  but  utterly  incapacitated  thereby,  in  a  way  which  has  no 
connexion  with  their  disinclination,  to  obey  God ;  or,  in  other 
words,  that  their  inability,  caused  by  Adam's  sin,  does  not  consist 
in  want  of  will  to  obey  God, 

Citizens,  is  every  man  in  this  city  and  country  to  be  con- 


257 

demned  and  disgraced  as  an  heretic,  who  does  not  come  up  to 
these  monstrous  opinions  ?  Imagination  can  scarcely  reach  to 
the  atrocity  and  insolence  of  this  whole  business.  The  men 
who  have  condemned  an  innocent  and  worthy  young  man, 
claim  to  be  Calvinists.  They  claim  to  be  what  they  are-not. 
Calvin  never  disgraced  religion  so  much  as  to  teach  the  doc- 
trines they  teach.  I  have  told  you,  in  the  Preface  of  the  First 
Series,  what  Calvin  thought  of  original  sin.  It  was  at  the  same 
distance  from  their  views  of  it,  that  I  am ;  and  as  to  a  general 
atonement,  these  men  have  been  called  upon,  in  vain,  to  show 
that  Calvin  denied  it.  They  cannot  show  it ;  and  there  is  much 
reason  to  believe  that  this  young  man,  whom  they  have  con- 
demned, does  not  differ  from  Calvin  m  his  views  of  the  atone- 
ment. 

The  doctrine  of  a  general  atonement  has  been  the  great  doc- 
trine of  the  Church  in  all  ages,  and  almost  all  its  sections.  It 
has  been  denied  as  rarely  as  the  divinity  of  Christ  ;  and  if  the 
whole  Christian  Church  be  considered,  and  the  whole  period  of 
its  duration,  it  will  be  found  that  as  many  have  denied  the  di- 
vinity of  Christ,  as  the  doctrine  of  universal  propitiation  for 
sin. 

But,  citizens,  you  are  told  that  the  Socinians  of  Boston,  and 
that  region,  are  sprung  from  Hopkinsianism.  You  are  told  this 
by  men  who  are  ready  to  assert  any  thing  that  will  answer  their 
present  purposes.  Never  was  a  more  obvious  or  infamous 
falsehood  asserted.  The  Socinians  of  those  parts  are  descended 
from  such  men  as  opposed  and  ridiculed  the  reformations  un- 
der Whitefield  ;  such  men  as  drove  Jonathan  Edwards  from 
Northampton  ;  such  men  as  have  ever  opposed  Edwards,  West, 
Bellamy,  and  Hoi')kins,  for  the  last  fifty  years,  on  the  same 
grounds,  and  for  the  same  reasons,  that  they  are  opposed  in  this 
city — the  Antinomian  ground. 

And  I  here  repeat  the  observation  made  in  the  first  number 
of  the  first  series  of  this  work,  that  the  strain  of  doctrine  pre- 
dominant in  this  city,  or,  at  least,  in  many  churches  of  it,  will 
present  no  barrier  to  vice  or  error,  but  will  ultimately  prepare 
the  way  for  both. 

Yet  dangerous  and  fatal  as  this  scheme  of  doctrine  is,  could 

22* 


258 

truth  and  error  have  been  left  to  a  fair  and  open  conflict,  I 
would  have  preferred  to  have  descended  to  my  grave  in  silence, 
ftfisured  that,  wherever  that  conflict  is  carried  on,  on  equal 
ground,  victory  must  crown  the  advocates  of  truth.  But  here 
it  has  been  far  otherwise.  While  truth  was  hushed,  and  hissed, 
and  terrified  into  total  silence — while  no  man  presumed  to  lift 
his  voice  against  the  torrent  of  opinion  and  prejudice,  which 
roiled  on  broad  and  deep  as  the  Ganges — while  pulpits  thun- 
dered, presses  groaned,  and  conversation  murmured  with  exe- 
crations and  anathemas,  against  a  strain  of  doctrine  of  which 
the  people  were  kept  in  perfect  ignorance,  it  was  time  that  a 
record  of  facts  was  published: — "and  after  the  manner  which 
they  call  heresy,  so  worship  I  the  God  of  my  fathers." 

INVESTIGATOR. 


269 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FOURTH  SERIES. 


The  resentment  which  certain  individuals  still  maintain,  and 
continually  express,  against  the  Triangle,  and  which,  whether  the 
breeze  whispers  or  storm  roars,  still  reverberates  through  the  city, 
excites  in  me  various  sentiments,  but  no  variation  of  purpose. 
Regarded  in  the  light  of  a  furious,  relentless,  arrogant,  and  haughty 
intolerance,  I  cannot  but  hear  it  with  contempt ;  but  considered, 
as  in  many  instances  it  is,  as  the  result  of  prejudices  corroborated 
from  the  cradle,  or  of  ignorance  of  equal  age  and  respectability, 
I  cannot  but  feel  concern  mingled  with  pity. 

Had  not  a  course  of  events  occurred  in  this  city,  since  this 
publication  began,  which  have  fully  justified  most  of  the  asser- 
tions in  the  former  numbers,  and  especially  in  the  first ;  had  not 
these  events  been  witnessed  by  the  public  eye,  attested  by  the 
public  ear,  and  sanctioned  by  the  official  acts  of  public  bodies, 
this  continual  and  furious  roar  of  execration  might  be  thought 
less  extraordinary,  and  perhaps  more  excusable. 

The  Triangle  is  accused  of  three  capital  faults :  of  laying 
false  accusations,  of  using  indecent  language,  and  of  advancing 
corrupt  sentiments. 

In  relation  to  the  first  of  these  charges,  the  city  of  New- York 
may  judge  for  herself,  how  much  exaggeration  I  have  been  guilty 
of;  when  she  has  lately  heard  the  whole  body  of  these  men 
fiercely  implead  the  Hopkinsians  at  the  public  bar,  and  lay  to 
their  charge,  not  merely  in  the  idle  slang  of  chimney-corner 
debate,  but  before  a  large  Missionary  Society,  almost  every  grade, 
species,  and  aggravation  of  error,  such  as  Socinian,  Deistical, 
and  Atheistical  heresies.  And,  reader,  when  you  hear  these 
charges  thundered  from  the  house  top,  and  propagated  by  the 
trumpet's  blast,  can  you  be  weak  enough  to  believe  that  it  has  not 
long  been  the  theme  of  their  perpetual  tattle,  their  gossiping, 
their  whispers,  and  intrigue.     You  may  not  know  it ;  I  do. 

And  as  I  said,  at  first,  but  which  doubtless  was  not  heeded,  this 
controversy,  this  furious  contention  has,  as  it  did  in  the  Mis- 
sionary Society,  in  every  instance,  begun  with  these  men.  They 
have  sought  the  quarrel — have  waged  the  battle — have  given  the 
provocation — have  premeditated  the  attack — have  thrown  down 
the  gauntlet — have  bared  their  weapons,  in  every  instance.     The 


260 

advocates  of  Hopkinsian  sentiments,  from  their  arrival  in  this  city, 
earnestly,  anxiously,  laboriously,  humbly,  and,  I  may  certainly 
add,  prayerfully,  studied  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  city,  and  of 
the  church.  Yet,  as  I  said,  the  most  industrious  measures  were 
presently  taken  to  root  them  out,  and  the  whole  art  and  science 
of  attack,  in  all  its  variations,  was  long  practised  upon  them. 

And,  reader,  one  day  you  shall  know,  in  spite  of  all  your 
reluctance,  that  I  have  not  exaggerated  on  this  point. 

With  reference  to  indecent  language,  I  shall  say  little.  The 
language  of  sarcasm  is  often  resorted  to,  and  I  most  conscien- 
tiously believe,  if  ever  admissible,  in  any  case,  it  was  on  these 
occasions.  The  spirit  of  bigotry  and  intolerance  affected  in  this 
free  country — the  figure  and  phiz  of  a  noli  me  tangere  gossiping 
about  in  this  free  and  enlightened  city — the  contour  of  a  man's 
character  and  conduct,  who  shall  here  set  himself  up  as  a  little 
spiritual  despot,  are  things  too  contemptible  and  base,  too  daring 
and  audacious,  to  merit  systematic  and  solemn  argument.  It  is 
hardly  worth  while  to  erect  a  scaffold  for  punishing  a  spider,  when 
you  can  crush  him  with  your  foot. 

As  to  satire  and  raillery,  and  sometimes  couched  in  tolerably 
gross  phrases,  I  must  beg  these  humble  admirers  of  great  men  to 
read  Dr.  Witherspoon's  "  Characteristics,"  while,  at  the  same 
time,  I  exhort  some  whose  consciences  are  so  terribly  wounded 
by  the  Triangle,  to  be  careful  not  to  strain  at  a  gnat,  and  swal- 
low a  camel,  in  their  behaviour  concerning  it. 

Whether  the  Triangle  advances  corrupt  sentiments,  the  eter- 
nal fountain  of  light  and  truth  will  judge.  Much  of  the  rage  of 
these  tender-hearted  men  is  levelled  at  this  article.  For  as  to 
censures,  sarcasm,  raillery,  and  abuse,  if  they  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  attending  various  churches  in  this  city,  they  have  heard 
as  much  from  the  pulpit,  and  probably  smiled,  nodded  assent,  or 
slept  under  it,  and  thought  it  very  well  said. 

I  blame  no  man  for  opposing  the  sentiments  of  the  Triangle. 
But,  as  the  quaint  proverb  says,  "  there  is  a  thing  different  from 
that  thing."  They  have  not  such  a  flaming  disinterested  love  of 
truth  as  to  be  up  in  arms,  when  mere  error  is  advanced.  The 
tremendous  crime  committed  is,  that  some  one  has  dared  to  tell 
men  what  they  do.  But  the  half — the  thousandth  part  has  not 
been  told. 

The  most  deplorable  slnte  of  society  is  that  in  which  a  set  of 
men  claim,  and  enjoy,  the  prescriptive  privilege  of  saying  and 
doing  what  they  please,  when  to  trace  their  steps,  and  lay  open 
their  conduct,  is  judged  an  unpardonable  crime.  This  is  slavery 
of  the  deepest  shade,  and  most  miserable  character  ;  and  in  this 
way  people,  if  they  are  let  alone,  will  rivet  their  own  chains ; 
will,  like  the  people  of  Rome,  be  the  first  to  immolate  Brutus 
and  Cassius,  who  had  fairly  broken  them. 


261 

But  the  free  discussions  which  have  lately  agitated  this  city,  and 
which  bigots,  spiritual  Lords  would  be,  and  some  near-sighted 
people  have  regarded  as  the  most  dreadful  of  all  dreadfuls,  have 
already  produced  the  most  happy  effects.  The  veil  is  rent,  the 
prescriptive  sovereignty  of  prejudice,  superstition,  and  mysticism, 
is  abolished,  and  the  reign  of  spiritual  despotism  is  at  an  end. 
The  Phoenix  has  arisen  ;  a  society  of  more  than  five  hundred  men 
is  formed,  who  know  they  have  a  right  to  think  for  themselves. 

In  the  mean  time,  I  wish  the  triangular  men  every  degree  of 
happiness  and  good  fortune.  Demeaning  themselves  as  good  and 
virtuous  citizens,  I  hope  they  will  be  loved  and  respected  as  such  : 
I  only  wish  them  suspected  and  despised  where  they  attempt  to 
throw  over  people's  heads  the  thongs  of  intolerance,  which  every 
man  has  more  reason  to  hate  and  fear  than  he  would  the  horrid 
bow-string  of  the  eastern  despot.  Let  them  rest  assured  that  I 
think  them  worthy  of  liberty,  but  not  to  reign. 

And,  for  the  good  men  so  terribly  put  out  with  the  Triangle,  I 
must  beg  them  to  be  composed,  and  devote  the  exuberance  of 
their  time  and  talents  a  little  more  exclusively  to  the  cultivation  of 
their  own  virtues,  by  which  means,  I  think,  society  would  receive 
benefit.  They  might,  in  this  way,  render  themselves  very  agreea- 
ble and  useful  companions.  But  among  authors,  and  in  public 
disputes,  they  will  not  be  able  to  effect  much.  I  question  whether 
the  writers  of  the  present  day  will  think  it  worth  while  to  ask 
them  what  they  may  write.  I  fear  their  uneasiness  arises  from 
too  high  an  opinion  of  their  own  importance  :  men  may  become 
very  extravagant  on  this  point.  It  is  recorded  of  two  Roman 
Emperors,  I  believe  Dioclesian  and  Galerius,  that  they  once,  in 
conversation,  expressed  themselves  in  the  following  couplets ; 

DiocL.     "  When  I  am  dead  and  in  roy  urn 

May  earth  and  fire  together  burn, 
And  all  the  world  to  cinders  turn." 

Gal.     "  Nay,  while  I  live  I  would  desire, 
To  set  the  universe  on  fire." 


THE  TRIANGLE 


FOURTH  SERIES. 


No.  I.  , 

The  existence  of  various  denominations  of  Christians,  while 
it  certainly  evinces  human  imperfection,  yet  does  not  certainly 
prove  the  whole  Church  more  corrupt,  or  more  liable  to  de- 
clension, than  she  would  be  under  a  greater  uniformity  of  senti- 
ment, and  one  general  communion.  This  remark  is  justified 
by  the  history  of  the  Church,  while  as  yet  there  had  been 
few  secessions  from  the  Romish  communion.  Though  this 
consideration  cannot  diminish  the  obligation  of  every  Christian 
to  seek  for  greater  unity,  and  to  desire  greater  uniformity,  in  the 
whole  Christian  world,  yet  it  should  be  regarded  as  a  motive  to 
fervent  charity,  to  Christian  forbearance,  and  a  spirit  of  tolera- 
tion. 

The  tower  of  Babel  began  to  rise,  while  the  whole  human 
family  spake  one  language;  and  whilst  the  whole  Christian 
world  formed,  comparatively  speaking,  but  one  church,  Con- 
stantine  planned  and  organized  her  government  after  the  model 
of  the  Roman  empire,  and  made  the  dignitaries  of  each  con- 
formable and  equal  to  the  other ;  and  the  great  lords  of  the 
church  were  quite  satisfied  and  highly  gratified,  now,  in  such 
limes,  that  Christ's  kingdom  should  become  a  kingdom  of  this 
world. 

A  certain  class  of  men  have  sufficiently  instructed  mankind 


264 

to  believe,  that  uniformity  of  doctrine  may  be  advocated  and 
desired,  from  far  other  motives  than  love  to  the  truth.  Indeed, 
when  we  see  a  man  furious  for  union,  and  becoming  violently 
intolerant,  you  may  be  as  certain  that  he  acts  from  sinister  mo- 
tives as  that  he  acts  at  all.  But  whatever  may  be  the  motives 
of  such  men,  how  mistaken  are  they  in  the  means  by  which 
they  seek  to  gain  their  object !  They  cannot  but  incur  suspi- 
cion— they  cannot  escape  detection.  Censure,  hatred,  and  ma- 
levolence, are  but  different  methods  of  bringing  people  over  to 
their  cause  ;  and  their  policy,  in  any  free  country,  will  drive 
away  ten  persons,  where  it  will  conciliate  one.  You  will  hear 
them  constantly  talking  what  glorious  times  we  should  have,  shid 
what  great  things  would  be  done,  if  all  held  to  "  the  form  of 
sound  word.^*  Ah !  glorious  times  indeed !  If  all  would  unite 
ia  one  church,  and  make  these  men  chief  rulers,  they  might 
immediately  commence  the  building  "  of  a  city,  and  of  a 
tower  that  would  reach  unto  heaven."  Their  rage  for  union 
arises  from  the  facility  it  would  give  to  their  schemes  of  ambi- 
tion. 

In  the  divisions  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  however  much 
blame  may  be  attributed  to  men,  there  still  is  evident  the  hand 
of  God.  These  divisions  are  to  be  viewed  in  no  other  light 
than  that  of  their  instrumental  causes.  The  Almighty  Ruler  of 
the  Church,  and  of  the  world,  could  have  prevented  them — 
could  have  caused  that  ail  his  people  should  be  of  one  heart, 
and  of  one  mind  ;  and  it  is  believed  that  such  a  day  as  that  will 
come.  But,  reader,  if  that  day  should  come,  it  would  be  no 
day  of  rejoicing  for  these  furious  intolerant  persecutors  for  uni- 
formity :  it  would  answer  their  purposes  still  far  less  than  the 
present  divided  state  of  the  Church,  when  they  are  quite  in  a 
rage  because  so  few  will  follow  their  standard.  The  day  of  the 
Lord  will  be  to  many  of  them  "  a  day  of  darkness  and  gloomi- 
neis,  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick  darkness."  When  therefore, 
they  pray  for  the  day  of  the  Lord,  they  know  not  what  they  pray 
for. 

As  in  heaven  itself,  there  will  be  no  object  gratifying  to  the 
proud    and   selfish    heart,  so   the  real   prosperity  of  Christ's 


265 

Church  will  not  answer  one  of  the  purposes  of  many  who  are 
now  most  petulant  and  clamorous  for  union.  It  will  not  in- 
crease their  fame  or  influence  ;  it  will  put  them  in  no  better 
humour  than  they  now  are  ;  it  will  not  cause  people  to  flock 
after  them  ;  and  it  is  a  great  wonder,  if  it  do  not  put  a  period 
to  all  their  plans  for  building  up  the  Church,  and  throw  them 
into  the  shade  of  oblivion. 

The  divisions  and  errors  of  Christians  are  suflfered  by  Christ, 
as  a  trial  of  the  faith,  the  patience,  and  charity  of  his  people. 
And  I  have  often  imagined  to  myself,  how  beautiful  and  love- 
ly the  whole  Church  might  appear,  even  notwithstanding  she 
lies  in  diflferent  apartments,  did  she  but  live,  in  all  her  mem- 
bers, in  the  exercise  of  fervent  charity.  There  certainly  is  a 
limit  of  charity,  as  there  is  a  degree  of  error,  beyond  which  it 
cannot  extend.  But  that  is  a  barrier  so  palpable,  and  the  fea- 
tures of  heresy  are  so  full  and  strong,  that  Christians,  exercis- 
ing the  temper  and  spirit  of  their  profession,  need  be  at  no  dif- 
ficulty to  discover  them.  But  under  the  exercises  of  that  pure 
and  heavenly  temper,  the  difl^erences  of  Christians  about  the 
minor  articles  and  distinctions  of  doctrine,  would  be  very  like- 
ly to  vanish  before  the  light  of  evidence.  Such  would  be  the 
candour,  the  frankness,  the  simplicity,  and  plainness,  with  which 
every  man  would  point  out  what  he  supposed  to  be  erroneous 
in  his  brethren,  having  no  motive  for  their  conviction,  but  a 
disinterested  desire  to  proipote  their  spiritual  good  ;  and  they, 
none  to  maintain  their  ground,  but  what  sprang  from  love  to 
the  truth,  there  would  be  a  strong  probability  of  the  final  adjust- 
ment of  their  diff'erences  of  opinion  ;  since  truth  is  always 
more  obvious  than  error,  and  the  state  and  proportion  of  evi- 
dence is  ordinarily  in  favour  of  truth.  A  man  has  no  motive 
to  be  angry  with  a  fellow  creature  for  diflering  from  his  opinion : 
for  his  views  of  religion,  he  is  accountable  to  God  alone,  be- 
fore whom  he   is  soon  to   answer   for  his  faith  and  practice. 

It  is  nothing  but  the  combination  of  selfish  views  and  worldly 
schemes  with  religion,  that  kindles  up  sectarian  jealousy  and 
intolerant  party  animosities.  It  is,  indeed,  for  the  most  part, 
rank  covetousness  and  base  avarice  that  prompts  to  bigotry  and 
intolerance.  Let  it  become  indiflferent  where  a  man  paid  his 
23 


266 

money,  or  gave  his  attendance  to  public  worship,  and  this 
dreadful  fear  of  Hopkinsian  innovations  would  forever  be  done 
away — this  terrible  moralphobia  would  be  cured — this  pretend- 
ed holy  jealousy  of  Arminian  tenets  would  quickly  grow  cool. 
It  is  your  cash,  citizens,  that  is  the  sovereign  charm  ;  it  is  your 
combination  with  their  views  of  interest  that  sharpens  the  edge 
of  their  weapons,  which  fly  so  thick  and  fast  ; — it  is  the  majesty 
of  crowded  assemblies  of  followers,  the  gratifying  conscious- 
ness of  a  supposed  ascendant  influence,  that  blows  the  furnace 
of  their  zeal  into  a  seven-fold  heat.  It  is  not  a  care  for  your 
salvation,  but  an  ambition  to  controul  your  faith  : — it  is  not  the 
fear  of  heresy,  but  fear  for  a  favourite  system,  on  which  their 
popularity  depends — a  system  support  ed  by  pride  and  ambition 
that  prompts  their  intolerance. 

But  their  attempts  are  vain,  and  their  zeal  shall  dissolve  like 
smoke  in  the  air.  The  Genius  of  my  country  will  not  be 
crushed  by  the  arm  of  spiritual  despotism  ;  she  has  triumphed 
where  thunders  roared  and  lightnings  played  their  volleys — 
and  a  voice  more  loud  than  thunder,  more  piercing  than  the 
lightning's  shaft,  shall  wither  this  impotent  rage.  The  voice  of 
truth  shall   yet  prevail. 

Having  proceeded  thus  far  on  this  essay,  I  received  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  in  which,  I  think,  the  reader  will  find  amusement, 
if  not  instruction. 


TO    THE  INVESTIGATOR. 

Sir, 

I  perceive,  by  your  former  numbers,  that  you  sometimes 
dream.  I  must  say  by  you,  as  the  Spectator  said  some  of  his 
correspondents  used  to  say  of  him,  that  they  wished  he  would 
sleep  oftener.  But  that  you  may  know  that  other  folks  dream 
sometimes  as  well  as  yourself,  I  make  bold  to  send  you  a  dream 
of  my  own,  and  if  you  think  proper,  you  may  give  it  a  place 
in  the  Triangle,  though  I  think  you  and  your  readers  must  al- 
low it  to  be    a  quadrangular   dream. 

If  it  be   true,    that,  "from     the   multitude   of  business    the 


267 

dream  cometh,"  you  need  not  be   much    at  a  loss  what  I    am, 
or  into  what  company  I  have  fallen. 

I  am,  sir,  your  very 
humble  servant, 

S.  C.   SOMNIFICATOR. 

I  fancied  myself  standing  in  the  court-yard  of  an  edilice  of 
great  size  and  regular  proportions.  This  court  was  spacious, 
far  exceeding  in  extent  any  thing  I  had  ever  seen,  seeming  to 
contain  an  extensive  jfield.  Its  surface  was  smooth  and  green, 
and  interspersed  with  shady  trees,  aromatic  shrubs,  and  clumps 
of  rare  and  beautiful  flowers.  Marble  fountains,  and  jet  d'eaus 
of  pure  water,  variously  disposed,  gave  freshness  to  the  verdure  ; 
while  birds  of  bright  plumage  and  melodious  notes  disported 
through  the  shades,  filling  the  scene  with  life,  cheerfulness, 
and  beauty.*  This  spacious  court,  with  a  gradual  assent  to- 
wards the  building,  was  bordered  on  one  side  with  rich  and 
cultivated  fields  to  an  interminable  extent,  which  in  remote 
distance  disclosed  hills,  valleys,  and  mountains ;  on  another,  it 
was  skirted  by  a  vast  forest  whose  trees  were  tall,  and  whose 
foliage  was  deep  and  bold.  In  the  remaining  direction,  it 
opened  to  a  distant  view  of  the  ocean.  The  edifice,  compared 
to  which  all  the  buildings  I  ever  saw  would  appear  inconsider- 
able, and  which,  whether  palace,  tower,  or  temple,  my  eye 
seemed  unable  to  determine,  faced  the  east,  and  as,  at  that 
juncture,  it  was  illuminated  by  the  cheerful  beams  of  an  ascend- 
ing sun,  its  appearance  was  bright  and  glorious  beyond  concep- 
tion. 

A  peculiar  tranquillity  reigned  everywhere  ;  the  distant 
ocean  seemed  to  slumber  in  peace  beneath  a  calm  and  cloud- 
less canopy,  curling  in  silver  morris  to  the  breeze  ;  the  gentle 
waving  of  the  forest  showed  the  quiet  of  the  elements,  while 
over  the  wide  country  seemed  the  sacred  smile  of  the  sabbath. 
In  the  grand   courts,  and  round    the  spacious  buildings,    I  saw 

*  The  American  people  may  be  said  to  form  the  outer  court  to  the  visible 
church.     The  forest  represents  tiie  savage  nations. — Investigator. 


268 

many  persons  whose  appearance  spoke  the  language    of  peace 
and  concord  ; — and  they  were  all  dressed  in  white.* 

In  a  scene  so  entirely  new,  and  so  grand  and  charming,  I  was 
wholly  at  a  loss  where  I  could  be  ;  whether  I  had  fallen  upon 
some  neighbouring  planet  ;  whether  it  was  the  celestial  para- 
dise, or  whether  I  had  been  transported  by  some  invisible 
power,  to  contemplate  the  beauties  of  the  morning  star,  I  could 
not  tell. 

Finding  myself  alone,  and  fearing  I  might  trespass  on  some 
sacred  enclosure,  forbidden  to  the  foot  of  a  stranger,  I  was  in 
suspense  what  course  to  pursue,  and  seemed  scarcely  to  ven- 
ture to  move  from  my  position.  But  on  turning  towards  the 
building,  I  perceived  that  it  bore  no  marks  of  royalty,  as  there 
were  nothing  of  the  equipage  or  pageantry  of  monarchs  about 
it.  It  was  no  fortress  of  war,  as  none  of  the  military  munitions, 
or  guards,  were  to  be  seen.  It  resembled  not  a  palaee  of  pleas- 
ure, and  though  it  seemed  the  seat  of  cheerfulness  and  tranquil- 
lity, there  were  no  indications  of  hilarity  and  mirth,  nothing  of 
the  daring  and  dissolute,  the  fierce  gentleness,  and  threatening 
urbanity,  which  marks  the  polished  air  of  fashionable  parties  of 
pleasure. 

As  little  did  it  bear  the  marks  of  domiciliary  habitude,  as 
was  evident  from  its  amazing  size  and  grandeur,  and  from  the 
absence  of  the  domestic  appearance  of  all  houses,  from  the  su- 
perbest  palace  to  the  humblest  cottage.f 

Emboldened  by  these  appearances  of  peace  and  order,  I 
walked  towards  the  edifice,  and  was  amazed  at  its  stupendous 
height  and  dimensions.  I  passed  various  parties  leisurely  walk- 
ing among  the  shades,  enjoying  the  fragrance  of  the  flowers, 
and  the  pleasantness  of  a  region  so  entirely  delightful.  I  could 
distinguish  none  of  their  conversation,  but  the  air  of  tranquillity 
and  reflection,  bordering  on  devotion,  which  was  obvious  in 
their  gesture  and  countenance,  bespoke  something  sublime  and 
awful,  and  I  perceived  must  have  some  connexion  with  religion. 

As  I  approached,  I  perceived  the  building  was  in  three  parts  ; 
its  site  resembling  three  sides  of  a   hollow  square,  open  on   the 

*  White  was  the  ancient,  as  well  as  modern  token  of  peace. — I. 
t  The  church  is  a  spiritual  edifice,  resembling  no  other  building.—/. 


269 

side  I  was  approaching.  This  square,  made  by  the  recess  of  the 
central  building,  and  by  the  projecting  of  the  wings  on  either 
side,  formed  a  majestic  inner  court,  and  was  divided  into  three 
compartments,  separated  by  rows  of  lofty  pillars,  and  corres- 
ponding with  three  grand  divisions  of  the  fabric* 

Upon  a  nearer  inspection,  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  per- 
ceive the  divisions  of  the  edifice  to  be  erected  on  the  three 
grand  orders  of  architecture.  The  northern  wing,  if  that  might 
be  called  a  wing,  which  was  of  equal  length,  and  greater  depth 
than  either  of  the  other,  was  of  the  Tuscan  order — the  central 
one,  of  the  Doric,  and  the  southern  of  the  Corinthian.  But, 
methinks,  never  were  these  orders  so  advantageously  contrast- 
ed, to  jud  ge  of  their  comparative  merits.  The  grave  appear- 
ance of  the  Tuscan  colums,  their  massy  strength  and  steadi- 
ness, gave  an  air  of  safety  to  their  towering  height  and  superin- 
cumbent structure.  Nor  did  they  want  the  grace  of  proportion, 
nor  the  evidence  of  masterly  execution.  The  solemn  grandeur, 
awful  magnificence,  and  eternal  durability  of  the  Gothic  arch, 
executed  in  imperishable  masses  of  granite,  and  with  the  able 
finish  of  the  hand  of  genius,  seemed  careless  of  all  comparison, 
while  they  reminded  the  spectator  of  that  sublime  declaration. 
"  the  strength    of  the  hills  is  his."t 

The  southern  wing,  projecting  to  an  equal  extent,  but  with 
not  so  great  a  breadth  of  foundation,  was  built  of  costly  marble, 
was  a  noble  specimen  of  the  best  age  of  the  Italian  school,  and 
far  excelled  the  grandest  work  of  Palladio,  reaching  near  the 
perfection  of  Phidias.J  From  the  outward  extremity  of  these 
wings,  and  connecting  them  together,  was  an  arch  of  incompa- 
rable beauty,  boldness,  and  grandeur,  under  which  it  was  neces- 
sary to  pass  to  enter  the  inner  court,  and  to  approach  the  vesti- 
bule of  either  of  the  three  structures;  under  which,  also,  might 
be  seen  the  whole  front  of  the  central  building.  This  edifice 
was  of  the  Doric  order,  executed  on  the  noblest  plan,  and  dis- 
played much  of  the  simplicity  and  chasteness  of  the  truly  an- 
cient  school.^ 

♦  Congregational,  Presbyterian,  and  Episcopalian. 
t  Congregational.  J  Episcopalian.  §  Presbyterian. 

23* 


270 

The  arch,  extending  from  wing  to  wing,  and  forming  the  en- 
trance to  these  majestic  edifices,  was  indescribable ;  it  seemed 
to  rise  to  heaven,  and  looked  like  the  triumphal  monument  of 
some  being  more  than  mortal.  As  I  drew  nearer,  I  was  seized 
with  an  emotion  of  reverence  and  awful  delight  which  I  cannot 
express  :  and  you  will  judge  how  this  was  increased,  when, 
looking  up  with  closer  inspection,  on  the  majestic  arch,  I  saw 
inscribed,  in  letters  of  the  purest  light,  "  Liberty  of  con- 
science."*    I  wept  with  emotions  of  joy  and  pleasure. 

Overpowered  with  various  sensations,  my  limbs  seemed  no' 
longer  obedient  to  my  volitions,  and  I  stood  in  deep  suspense, 
looking  at  times  into  these  sacred  recesses,  which,  I  was  per- 
fectly assured,  could  be  nothing  but  the  sanctuary  of  God ;  but 
in  doubt  whether  to  proceed  or  retire. 

Whilst  I  remained  thus  passive  and  irresolute,  two  female 
forms,  of  superior  address  and  surpassing  brightness,  approach- 
ed me.  The  one  I  knew,  as  all  who  ever  see  her  must  intui- 
tively know  her,  to  be  Truth.  Though  she  appears  in  various 
degrees  of  splendour,  yet  her  movement,  form,  and  countenance, 
cannot  be  mistaken.  She  was  dressed  in  robes  that  excel  in  purity 
the  mountain  snow  ;  and  the  radiant  diadem  that  never  falls  from 
her  head,  is  always  easily  distinguished.  Her  countenance  was 
calmly  severe ;  the  glance  of  her  eye  was  penetrating,  and  her 
frown  no  mortal  can  endure.  The  other,  who  was  quite  a  stran- 
ger, exhibited  a  form  of  grace  and  elegance  which  nothing  can 
surpass;  her  light  blue  eye,  full  of  vivacity  and  gentleness,  ex- 
hibited the  smile,  the  generous  frankness,  the  softness  and  sin- 
cerity of  the  opening  morning,  her  golden  tresses  were  gathered 
in  a  wreath  of  flowers,  which  might  have  been  mistaken  for 
the  immortal  amaranthus. 

"  Her  mantle  large,  of  greenish  hue, 

My  gazing  wonder  chiefly   drew, 

Deep  lights  and  shades  bold  mingling  threw, 

A  lustre  grand, 
And  seem'd  to  my  astonished  view, 
A  well-known  land." 

*  Th  e  constitution  under  which  every  man  chooses  his  religion. — /. 


271 

"  My  name,"  said  she,  "  is  Toleration ;  I  am  the  compamon 
of  Truth ;  we  reside  in  these  mansions,  and,  if  you  are  dispos- 
ed to  view  them,  we  will  be  your  guide."  Restored  to  confi- 
dence, by  the  affability  of  personages  so  truly  august,  and  so 
kind  an  offer,  I  thanked  them,  and  accepted  of  their  proposal. 
We  passed  under  the  majestic  arch,  and  stood  in  what  may  be 
called  the  central  aisle  of  the  inner  court.  The  edifice  then 
presented  on  three  sides  and  as  it  was  raised  on  the  bold  eleva- 
tion of  forty  steps,  the  architraves  and  entablatures  sustained 
by  lofty  columns,  appeared  of  majestic  height,  and  astonishing 
magnificence. 

The  three  edifices  seemed  equally  to  prompt  curiosity,  and 
invite  the  stranger — won  by  her  rich  and  magnificent  elegance — 
won  by  her  bold  and  masterly  simplicity — and  won  by  her  so- 
lemn dignity  and  awful  grandeur.  As  we  moved  almost  in- 
sensibly down  the  aisle,  my  guides  seemed  waiting  to  be  deter- 
mined by  my  preference.  Toleration  said  to  me,  with  a  smile, 
*'  Sir,  you  can  visit  all  these  buildings,  and  we  will  enter,  first, 
the  one  you  may  prefer."  But,  by  this  time,  we  had  begun  to 
ascend  the  lofty  vestibule  of  the  central  edifice  ;  and  my  guides 
concluding,  that,  by  accident  or  inclination,  I  preferred  enter- 
ing there,  immediately  proceeded  to  the  door. 

As  Truth  turned  to  ring  the  bell,  she  informed  me  that  we 
might  possibly  meet  with  some  difficulty  in  gaining  admittance  ; 
for  that  three  persons  had  lately  obtained  a  residence  there,  by 
the  courtesy  of  the  original  proprietors  of  these  giounds  and 
buildings,  who  had  officiously  volunteered  their  services  in 
guarding  the  entrance  against  the  intrusion  of  any  improper 
persons.  Upon  asking  their  names,  she  replied,  with  a  smile, 
that  they  had  arrived  there,  and  acquired  some  influence  under 
the  names  of  Orthodoxy,  Zeal,  and  Vigilance  ;  but  that  their 
true  names,  in  their  native  country,  had  been  discovered  to  be 
Bigotry,  Intolerance,  and  Persecution.  Upon  my  expressing 
some  surprise  at  this  inteUigence,  Toleration  observed,  that 
"'  they  were  generally  well  known,  and  thoroughly  despised  ; 
but  having  gained  a  residence  and  considerable  influence,  un- 
der very  imposing  and  specious  names,  they  had  attached  se- 
veral restless  and  turbulent   spirits  to   their  interest,   and   being 


272 

in  a  reor'ion  of  great  peace  and  tranquillity,  where  nothing  is  so 
much  regretted  as  measures  of  violence  and  hostility,  many 
who  knew  them  the  best,  and  detested  them  the  most  heartily, 
nevertheless,  preferred  bearing  with  their  impertinence,  to 
using  the  means  for  their  expulsion."  "  But,  perhaps,"  said 
Truth,  "  you  may  not  have  a  glimpse  at  them,  for  in  some 
apartments  in  this  building,  they  dare  not  even  be  seen,  and  in 
many  others,  they  do  not  choose  often  to  show  their  faces,  but 
on  very  special  occasions.'' 

A  moment  after,  the  door  was  opened  by  a  young  damsel, 
whom,  by  her  peculiar  air,  and  exceeding  simplicity  and  beau- 
ty in  person,  dress,  and  manners,  I  should  have  almost  known 
to  be  Charity,  had  not  Truth  kindly  pronounced  her  name. 
There  was  nothing  of  ornament  on  her  head,  but  the  beautiful 
ringlets  of  auburn  hair  which  flowed  carelessly  down  with 
inimitable  grace  ;  and  with  a  countenance  beaming  the  smile  of 
immortal   youth,  she    bade  us   welcome,  and  desired   us  to  enter. 

Turning  from  this  very  uncommon  door-keeper,*  who,  at  any 
other  moment  than  this,  could  not  but  have  commanded  a  more 
interested  attention,  a  spacious  hall  of  great  magnificence  was 
before  me.  Though  it  seemed  but  a  common  hall  of  entrance, 
to  the  interior  of  the  building,  it  was  fitted  up  with  peculiar  de- 
vices and  appropriate  insignia. 

This  vast  saloon  was  decorated  with  paintings  and  statues 
of  most  extraordin  ary  design,  and  unparalleled  execution.  It 
seemed  diflicult,  at  first  sight,  to  determine  whether  I  was  sur- 
rounded with  hving  b  eings,  or  with  visions  of  the  mind.  Though 
evidently  paintings,  they  seemed  to  have  been  done  with  a  bold- 
ness of  colouring,  and  force  of  expression,  vvhijch  as  much  de- 
fied the  pencil  of  Raphael  to  reach,  as  the  pen  of  Shakspeare 
to  describe.  The  grandeur  of  the  apartment  seemed  shaded 
with  the  solemn  gloom  of  twilight,  while,  nevertheless,  the 
vivid  colourings  of  the  scene  showed  an  inherent  lustre,  re- 
sembling, though  far  surpassing,  a  picture  exquisitely  illuminat- 
ed. In  a  word,  the  shading  was  deep  and  awful,  but  interspersed 
and   enlivened  with  tints  which  evidently   surpassed   all  mortal 

*  Charity  keeps  very  few  doors,  either  public  or  private,  either  of  churches 
or  families.—/. 


273 

skill.     It  was  no  emblem,  and  I  felt  that   I  was   contemplating  a 
reality,   whose  full  import  I  a  moment  after  understood. 

On  a  spacious  pannel  of  the  wall,  at  my  right,  the  hangings 
displayed  a  landscape  which  particularly  engaged  my  attention. 
A  small  and  solitary  vessel  lay  moored  in  a  bay  of  the  ocean, 
on  the  shores  of  a  vast  and  boundless  wilderness.  The  world 
of  waters  seemed  agitated  and  raging  beneath  a  wintry  sky, 
while  the  leafless  forests  discovered  to  the  eye  the  snow-clad 
hills,  the  rivulets  chained  in  ice,  and  the  lakes,  now  congealed 
like  marble,  holding  a  solid  mirror  to  the  etherial  vault,  and 
the  revolving  lamps  of  heaven.  The  wide  circuit  of  the  waters, 
which  seemed  a  real  prospect  of  the  ocean,  was  cheered  by 
no  sprightly  sail ;  no  ship  with  swelling  canvass  was  either  com- 
ing in  or  going  out ;  no  joyful  shouts  of  sailors  could  be  ima- 
gined hastening  to  embrace  their  friends,  after  the  perils  of  the 
voyage  were  past;  no  stately  vessel  courting  the  favourable 
gale  to  waft  her  to  a  distant  port. 

One  solitary  bark  there  was,  in  the  waters  which  the  keels  of 
commerce  had  never  ploughed,  and  where  the  gallant  ship  ne- 
ver floated.  On  the  neighbouring  shore,  a  few  humble  cottages 
denoted,  by  their  form  and  texture,  the  vestiges,  as  did  the 
ascending  smoke  the  present  residence,  of  civilized  man.  But 
how  dreary  was  their  prospect — how  joyless  their  condition ! 
At  no  very  discriminating  distance  were  discernible  the  winter 
camps  of  the  hostile  savage  ;  the  smoke  of  the  wigwam  was 
ascending  from  the  neighbouring  hills,  and  along  the  bays  and 
inlets  of  the  adjacent  waters.  Imagination  might  seem  almost 
to  hear  the  mingled  howl  of  savage  men  and  beasts  prowling 
for  their  prey,  and  threatening  to  devour  such  of  this  defence- 
less people,  as  the  severity  of  the  climate,  the  fierceness  of  the 
elements,  the  rage  of  famine,  or  the  angel  of  pestilence,  on 
this  lonely  shore,  might  spare. 

A  wall,  or  rather  a  defence  of  palisades,  encircled  their  dwell- 
ings, which  seemed  to  promise  little  security.  But  without  this, 
and  at  a  very  great  distance,  there  was  another  enclosure  of  a 
more  extraordinary  nature,  which,  at  first  view,  appeared  like  a 
luminous  circle,  but  on  nearer  inspection,  I  perceived  it  was  a 
wall  of  fire.      The  foundation  glowed  like  solid  bars  of  iron 


274 

rendered  white  in  a  furnace,  and  on  the  top  sat  a  quivering 
flame  which  waved  outward  with  fierce  coruscations  towards 
the  wilderness.  Whilst  the  divine  promise  rested  upon  my 
mind,  "  I  will  be  a  wall  of  fire  round  about  thee."  Truth,  who 
stood  by  my  side,  said,  with  a  smile,  "  Behold  the  origin  of 
your  nation  !  and  the  trials  your  forefathers  endured  for  the 
love  of  truth,  and  the  rights  of  conscience.  You  see  the  colony 
of  Plymouth,  on  the  first  days  of  their  landing.  In  the  midst 
of  their  trials  God  Was  their  defence." 

She  then  pointed  to  a  distant  part  of  the  landscape,  and  I 
clearly  perceived  the  course  of  the  Hudson,  channeled  through 
lofty  mountains,  but  still  winding  his  majestic  way  to  the  sea, 
through  the  pathless  wilderness,  save  where  the  roving  savage 
had,  at  times,  marked  out  his  devious  peregrinations,  in  his  fa- 
vourite pursuits  of  war  and  hunting.  She  made  me,  however, 
observe,  remote  in  the  dim  and  shadowy  vista,  the  infant  set- 
tlements of  Albany  and  Bergen,  the  one  at  the  mouth,  and  the 
other  towards  the  sources  of  the  river  ;  and  again  far  south,  on 
the  shores  of  Virginia,  the  only  remaning'  vestige  of  civilization 
to  be  found  on  the  northern  section  of  America. 

I  was  struck  with  surprise,  at  beholding  on  the  foreground  of 
the  piece,  which  wonderfully  represented  both  map  and  picture, 
and  indeed,  wherever  Truth  directed  her  piercing  eye,  and 
pointed  with  her  hand,  grew  into  a  scene  of  living  existence, 
the  same  majestic  arch,  already  described,  as  connecting  the 
wings  of  the  buildings,  and  inscribed  with  the  same  motto,  "  Li- 
berty of  Conscience.'' 

Till  now,  I  had  not  observed  a  perspective  glass  which  Truth 
held  in  her  hand,  which  she,  at  this  moment,  presented  me, 
after  having  adjusted  the  barrel  to  the  first  circle  marked  there- 
on. "  This,"  said  she,  '*  will  show  you  the  efiects  which  a 
century  can  produce  on  a  wilderness,  where  God  designs  to 
build  and  plant  a  nation."  As  I  took  the  glass,  I  observed  at  the 
circle  to  which  the  sight  was  adjusted  1720.  I  raised  it  to  my 
eye,  and  how  changed  was  the  scene !  The  forest  had  melted 
away  from  the  shores  of  the  ocean,  and  the  banks  of  the  larger 
rivers  smiled  with  cultivation.  From  Massachusetts  to  Virgi- 
nia, a  broad  line  of  flourishmg  villages,  and  noble  plantations^ 


275 

resembled  a  fringe  of  gold  upon  a  broad  mantle  of  green.  And 
now  the  whole  prospect  was  more  illuminated,  and  the  level  rays 
of  reflection  seemed  to  indicate  the  sun  just  risen,  "  the  blue 
waves  of  ocean  rolled  in  light,  and  the  mountains  were  covered 
with  day." 

No  longer  was  the  frail  and  solitary  bark  seen  before  Ply- 
mouth. Numerous  sails  were  visible  from  far,  and  seemed  wafted 
by  gales  of  prosperity ;  and  if  Plymouth  had  become  a  noble 
village,  denoting  by  her  appearance,  wealth,  contentment,  and 
security,  at  no  great  distance  from  her  had  arisen  a  rival  sister,  a 
far  nobler  capital,  which  promised  one  day  to  be  the  nursery  of 
patriots  and  heroes,  and  the  cradle  of  an  independent  nation.  But 
if  Plymouth  was  eclipsed  by  the  importance  of  a  rising  capital 
near  her,  how  much  more  was  Bergen  lost  and  forgotten,  in 
another  name,  which  was  quickly  to  become  the  grandest  empo- 
rium of  North  America. 

After  glancing  to  various  parts  of  this  great  landscape,  I  took 
the  glass  from  my  eye,  and  having  drawn  it  to  another  circle, 
marked  1820,  I  was  about  to  renew  my  observation,  when  Truth 
observed,  that  as  I  had  no  optics  for  contemplating  futurity,  I 
should  see  nothing  there  but  darkness.  And  as  to  the  present 
state  of  the  country,  continued  she,  you  will  derive  more  benefit 
from  industry  than  perspective  glasses. 

Passing  this  incomparable  landscape,  my  attention  was  drawn 
from  every  other  object  to  a  portrait,  which  occupied  the 
western,  or  upper  part  of  the  saloon.  It  was  a  full  length  pic- 
ture, and  was  evidently  designed  as  the  leading  figure  of  the 
room.  For  though  this  gallery  was  a  hundred  yards  in  length, 
thirty  in  breadth,  and  twenty  in  height,  it  seemed  equally  con- 
spicuous, from  every  part,  and  to  an  eye,  but  little  acquainted 
with  the  fine  arts,  it  could  not  be  mistaken  for  the  Genius  of 
America.  But  it  surpassed  all  description.  It  was  standing  on 
elevated  ground ;  a  flourishing  olive  seemed  rising  on  his  right 
hand,  and  a  princely  bay  tree  on  his  left,  like  a  towering  pyra- 
mid, rose  far  above  his  head,  from  which  the  shadow  fell  round 
him  as  from  a  meridian  sun,  though  broken  and  dashed  with 
intromissions  of  his  golden  beam. 

The    Genius,  in  the  form  and  proportions  of  an  Apollo  Belvi- 


276 

dere,  far  transcended  the  human  stature  in  ^height  and.  power, 
and  though  he  could  not  appear  otherwise  than  terribly  majestic, 
he  expressed  the  grandest  lines  of  perfect  benignity,  and  excited 
the  hi<rhest  sensations  of  the  sublime-  In  his  countenance  was  a 
placidness  and  security  of  expression  indicated  by  the  union  of 
power  and  goodness  ;  fearless  of  danger  and  of  war,  yet  prefer- 
ring peace,  and  tranquillity.*  A  dazzling  robe  of  scarlet  descend- 
ed from  his  shoulders,  partially  concealing  an  underdress  of 
white,!  and  it  seemed  not  easy  to  determine  M'h ether  the  fashion 
of  his  dress  was  ancient  or  modern.J:  On  his  left  breast  was  a 
plate  of  burnished  gold,  surmounted  with  a  Mosaic  star  of  bril- 
liants of  great  lustre,  around  which  was  this  inscription,  "  civil 
AND  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY."  Bearing  this  motto  on  his  heart,  and 
with  the  robe  of  justice  floating  round  him,  he  wore  a  civic  crown 
composed  of  the  olive  branch,  entwined  and  bound  with  an  argent 
fillet,  on  which  was  inscribed,  "  Gladius  corpus^  sed  Veritas  men- 
tern  vulnerat.^  Near  him  was  a  stately  arbour,  formed  by  the 
arching  branches  of  the  elm  and  myrtle,  interlaced  with  vines, 
and  through  the  osier  trellis  of  a  fine  summer  retreat  were  seen 
a  Bible  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  engrossed  on 
parchment,  lying  on  a  table. 

The  Genius,  who  seemed  recently  to  have  been  reposing 
there,  was  in  the  attitude  of  advancing  forward,  with  his  right 
hand  laid  on  the  hilt  of  a  splendid  sword  which  hung  in  his  belt, 
and  his  eye  sternly  pursuing  an  object  almost  hid  in  impervious 
shades  on  his  right ;  but,  on  nearer  inspection,  could  be  dis- 
covered. Huge  and  terrific,  it  appeared  doubtful  whether  man 
or  monster,  and  its  dress  and  countenance  were  assimilated  to 
the  deepest  shade,  to  which  it  seemed  anxious  at  this  time  to 
escape.  Yet,  agreeable  to  the  vulgar  idea,  that  ghosts  and  gob- 
lins are  always  encompassed  with  supernatural  appearances, 
this]  monster,  if  a  human  figure  can  be  sufSciently  hideous  to 
bear  the  name,  was  encircled  with  pale  and  livid  hght,  and  on 

*  Such  is  the  character  of  the  American  people. — /. 
t  The  habit  usually  worn  by  Justice  in  allegory. — /. 
X  It  is  not  easy  to  say  whether  the  American  genius  will  ultimately  more 
resemble  the  Greeks,  Romans,  French,  or  English. — ./ 
§  The  sword  wounds  the  body — truth  the  mind.' — /. 


277 

his  breast,  in  letters  of  sulphurous  flame,  was    visible  the  word 
Intolerance. 

I  rejoiced  to  see  the  hideous  monster  fly  before  the  genius  of 
my  country,  and  thus,  I  trust,  it  will  ever  be,  while  the  favour 
of  heaven  is  extended  to  us  as  a  people.* 

Having  viewed  various  other  curiosities  in  this  spacious  gal- 
lery, my  guides  proceeded  to  conduct  me  through  the  other 
parts  of  the  building,  which  were  very  numerous,  and  by  their 
forms  and  furniture  showed  the  purposes  to  which  they  were 
appropriated.  This  building  was  four  stories  in  height.  The 
rooms  on  the  first  floor  were  rather  small,  and  evidently  adapted 
to  the  session  of  a  church ;  and  this  appeared  still  more  evident 
from  their  number,  which,  as  Truth  informed  me,  was  to  the 
amount  of  several  hundred.  Over  the  door  which  led  to  an- 
other spacious  gallery,  into  which  all  these  apartments  opened, 
was  this  inscription,  "  Let  the  elders  that  rule  well  be  counted 
worthy  of  double  honour.''^  This  gallery  terminated  at  the  re- 
mote end  in  a  noble  flight  of  stairs  which  landed  us  on  the  second 
story,  and,  indeed,  ascended  direct  to  the  upper  loft  of  the  build- 
ing. Here  the  apartments  were  as  much  larger  as  the  number 
was  less,  but  planned  in  a  similar  form,  and  occupying  the  same 
extent  of  building  ;  and  over  the  hall  of  entrance  leading  to  these 
apartments,  I  perceived  this  inscription,  "  Neglect  not  the  gift 
that  is  in  thee.,  which  was  given  thee  by  prophecy ^  and  the  laying 
on  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery.''^ 

In  the  third  loft,  there  were  five  apartments,  on  a  much 
larger  scale,  as  they  included  the  same  section  of  the  edifice, 
and  were  consequently  of  great  extent.  I  here  recognized  the 
diff'erent  synods  of  the  Church.  And  the  motto  placed  at  the 
entrance  of  these  apartments  was,  "  In  multitude  of  counsellors 
there  is  safety.''''  Last  of  all,  and  on  the  fourth  floor,  was  one 
grand  apartment,  the  high  and  arching  dome  of  which  was  sup- 

♦  Would  to  God  that  this  picture  were  suspended  in  the  vestibule  of  every 
church  of  Christ ;  or,  rather,  of  every  church  which  bears  that  name.  In- 
tolerance, is,  indeed,  a  principle  as  weak  and  cowardly,  as  it  is  base  and 
cruel ;  its  grand  exploits  are  always  made  against  the  defenceless,  and 
generally  against  the  innocent  and  worthy. — /. 
24 


278 

ported  on  two  rows  of  doric  pillars,  of  excellent  workmanship 
and  proportions.  In  an  alcove,  or  fine  recess,  at  the  upper  end 
of  this  vast  apartment,  were  several  pieces  of  statuary,  among 
which  I  discovered  the  well-known  forms  of  Davies,  Finley, 
Burr,  Witherspoon,  Rodgers,  and  M'Whorter.  On  the  lofty 
and  beautiful  arch  of  this  recess  was  this  inscription,  "  Built  on 
the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself 
being  the  chief  corner  stone,  in  whom  the  building  fitly  framed 
together  groweth  into  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord."  In  the  centre 
of  this  group  of  figures,  on  a  table  made  of  American  myrtle,  lay 
the  volume  of  the  word  of  God. 

We  returned  from  the  upper  floor  of  this  building  to  the  lower 
ones,  by  a  different  passage  from  that  by  which  we  ascended, 
and  I  observed,  that  from  each  of  the  lower  apartments  there 
was  a  separate  ascent  to  the  rooms  of  the  second  floor,  as  there 
was  also,  from  every  room  on  the  second,  to  those  on  the  third 
floor:  as  also,  from  the  rooms  on  the  second,  there  were  di- 
rect ascents  to  the  fourth,  or  grand  room,  which  did  not  lie 
through  the  rooms  on  the  third  floor.  These  circumstances 
rendered  this  whole  fabric  a  most  curious  piece  of  architecture ; 
displaying,  however,  no  less  of  invention,  than  skill  in  the  exe- 
cution.* 

In  the  survey  we  took  of  this  extensive  fabric.  Toleration  di- 
rected our  course,  opening  every  door,  (for  none  were  locked  or 
barred,)  and  giving  us  free  access  wherever  we  were  inclined  to 
enter.  Some  of  the  rooms  seemed  at  that  time  occupied  by 
the  persons  who  held  regular  jurisdiction  there  :  they  showed 
us  every  civility,  invited  us  to  prolong  our  stay,  or  to  repeat  our 
visits,  as  our  inclination  might  lead. 

After  we  had  spent  some  time  in  walking  through  various 
apartments,  in  all  of  which  a  uniform  neatness  and  order  pre- 
vailed, we  were  arrested  by  a  singular  adventure  near  the  door 
of  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  second  floor.  As  we  were  ap- 
proaching the  door,  and  about  to  enter  this  apartment,  three 
men,  coming  out  of  the  room,   met  us,   and,  placing   themselves 

*  The  grand  staircase  first  mentioned  represents  the  course  of  an  appeal  ; 
the  other  communications  are  obvious. — /. 


279 

in  our  way,  with  a  very  obtrusive  air,  desired  to  know  who  we 
were,  and  what  was  our  business.  I  was  not  a  little  surprised 
at  tones  so  peremptory,  and  language  so  dictatorial,  so  uncom- 
mon in  this  house.  And  observing  these  gentlemen,  I  thought 
their  countenances  familiar  to  my  recollection,  yet  their  names 
did  not  occur. 

After  a  moment's  pause.  Truth  replied  to  their  demand,  with 
great  composure ;  "  Gentlemen,  this  young  man  is  a  stranger 
here,  though  not  unknown  to  us  ;  he  is  about  engaging  in  the 
gospel  ministry,  and,  we  think,  he  would  not  be  an  improper  per- 
son to  send  abroad  as  an  evangelist  and  missionary,  to  carry 
the  glad  news  of  a  Saviour  to  places  destitute  of  that  blessing. 
We  have,  therefore,  shown  him  the  different  apartments  of 
this  building,  and  hope  he  will  be  acceptable  to  those  whose 
business  it  is  to  commission  men  for  that  purpose,  and  also  a 
blessing  to  the  Church  of  Christ.  But,  gentlemen,"  continued 
she,  *'  as  myself  and  this  lady  have  dwelt  here  ever  since  this 
fabric  was  erected,  and  as  we  have  not  the  honour  of  knowing 
you,  we  are  under  the  necessity  of  asking  the  same  favour  of  you 
which  you  did  of  us." 

This  address  of  Truth  was  received  with  a  haughty  air,  and 
these  men  looked  as  though  they  would  give  the  reply,  given 
on  a  somewhat  similar  occasion,  when  the  arch  fiend  had  en- 
tered into  the  garden  of  innocence,  and  was  there  detected  by 
Ithuriel  and  Zephon,  two  of  the  angelic  guards  of  Paradise. 
When  they  demanded  his  name,  he  replied, 

"  Not  to  know  me  argues  yourselves  unknown.'* 

These  men  were  dressed  in  black,  and  so  exactly  resembled 
three  clergymen  whom  I  knew,  that  had  not  one  of  them  de- 
clared their  names  to  be  Orthodoxy,  Zeal,  and  Vigilance,  I 
should  have  supposed  I  knew  them.  It  brought  to  mind,  how- 
ever, what  I  have  often  heard  asserted,  that  men  who  in  form  and 
features  resemble  each  other,  are  generally  found  to  have  a  like- 
ness in  mind  and  character.  A  remark,  in  favour  of  which,  I 
think  philosophy  can  furnish  some  reasons,  however  experience 
may  decide. 


280 

Orthodoxy  was  a  man  of  middling  size,  of  dark  complexion, 
rather  inclining  to  Roman  or  aquiline  and  acute  features,  re- 
markably grave,  quite  precise  in  his  language,  affected  in  his 
manners,  and  looked  jealous,  hypochondriacal,  very  solemn, 
and  sourly  religious.  The  superciliary  and  frontal  muscles  seem- 
ed long  obedient  to  the  agencies  of  spleen,  pride,  and  arrogance  ; 
and  his  whole  expression  seemed  to  say,  that  he  expected  to  be 
treated  with  great  respect. 

Zeal  was  a  small  man,  rather  spare,  of  tolerable  regular  fea- 
tures, of  the  light  and  choleric  temperament  of  complexion,  looked 
sharp,  uttered  quick,  voluble,  sententious,  and  round  periods,  with 
a  voice  which,  had  the  man  not  been  seen,  might  have  been  sup- 
posed to  have  proceeded  from  a  much  larger  body,  putting  me  in 
mind  of  the  fable  of  the  wolf  and  nightingale  ;  and  I  observed  that 
he  had  a  remarkably  little  head. 

Vigilance  was  a  tall,  thin  figure,  without  colour  in  his  face,  or 
other  expression  than  the  faint  gleaming  of  an  uneasy  smile, 
which  pain  excites,  rather  than  pleasure.  He  had  the  brown,  un- 
animated  aspect  of  cloudy  November  twilight ;  and  if  a  sheep 
could  be  turned  into  a  wolf,  he  seemed  to  resemble  the  mon- 
grel that  would  be  the  result,  provided  that  metamorphosis 
could  be  suddenly  arrested  when  two  thirds  accomplished.  With 
a  long  neck,  and  rather  small  features,  it  appeared  as  if,  after  the 
outline  was  struck,  the  contour  had  been  contracted  through 
scarcity  of  material  in  the  internal  fabric.  In  short,  the  eyes 
of  this  man,  which  were  small,  far  separated,  and  of  the  colour 
of  the  dark  oxyd  of  iron,  void  of  all  brightness,  expressed  the 
dull  and  wandering  glare  ol  morbid  wakefulness,  and  seemed  a 
window  through  which  suspicion,  treachery,  and  cruelty,  alone 
held  commerce  with  the  world. 

These  gentlemen,  however,  appeared  with  an  assumption  of 
great  dignity,  and  with  a  scornful  smile  informed  Truth  that 
they  had  heard  of  this  young  man,  meaning  me,  before,  and  well 
knew  that  he  was  "  unsound  in  the  faith,"  desired  to  be  no  fur- 
ther troubled  with  impertinent  intrusions  ;  with  which,  turning 
suddenly  upon  us,  they  went  into  the  room,  and  shut  the  door 
with  such  violence  that  the  jarrmg  noise  reverberated  through  the 
neighbouring  apartments  to  a  great  distance.* 

*  This  clash  was  heard  from  Philadelphia  to  New-Yoik.—J. 


281 

In  our  walks  round  this  building,  I  discovered   that  there  were 
two  small  buildings  standing  just  behind  it,  resembling  it  in  form, 

but  smaller  in  size,  and  built  of  different  materials.  They 
might  have  been  mistaken  for  wings  to  the  doric  ed  ifice,  as  they 
joined  up  to  it,  and  between  them  was  an  opening  which  might 
have  formed  a  court  yard,  but  that  it  was  overgrown  with  briars 
and  thorns,  and  presented  no  pasage  but  a  narrow  foot  path, 
through  which  whoever  passed  would  be  liable  to  be  scratched 
and  torn,  if  not  bitten  by  some  noxious  reptile  that  crawled  be- 
low. These  edifices  appeared,  however,  very  decent,  and  as  my 
curiosity  prompted  me  to  view  their  internal  arrangements,  I 
proposed  to  my  g  uides  to  take  a  view  of  them.  I  saw  the  la- 
dies smile  at  each  other,  but  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  it ; 
as  it  was  their  object   to  instruct  me  more  by  actual  experience 

than  by  mere  intelligence.  They  accordingly  approached  near 
the  door  of  one  of  them,  and  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  see 
the  same  three  figures  standing  before  it. 

As  we   happened  to  see  them  at  a  distance,  I  instantly  halted, 
and  begged   of  Toleration   to  spare  me  another  interview   with 

Orthodoxy,  whom  I  did  not  very  much  admire.  We  accord- 
ingly turned  about;    and  as   I  had  seen  these  men  planted    at 

this  door,  I  concluded  that  we  should  find  the  entrance  to  the 
other  building  free,  or,  at  least,  guarded  by  visages  less  grim 
and  repulsive.  We  approached  the  door,  and  were  about  to 
open  it.  when,  looking  up,  we  saw  inscribed  in  large  letters  over 
it,  *■*■  None  are  admitted  here  but  such  as  will  sign  the  Covenant,''^ 
Truth,   however,   gave  a  loud  rap,  and  immediately  the  door 

was  opened ;  but  the  reader  may  conjecture,  if  he  can,  my  sur- 
prise when,  behold,  there  again  stood  Orthodoxy,  Zeal,  and 
Vigilance,  looking  more  stern  and  terrific  than  ever;  and  I  seem- 
ed as  though  I  could  hear  the  ancient  maxim,  "  turn  or  burn," 

distinctly  pronounced.     I  was   ready,  with  the  poor  Frenchman, 

to  exclaim,  "  Monsieur  Tonson  again  !"     I  also  recollecteded 

Milton's  famous  passage. 


."Black  he  stood  as  night, 


Fierce  as  ten  furies,  terrible  as  hell, 
And  shook  a  dreadful  dart." 
24* 


282 

We  turned  from  them  without  parley,  and  having  now  visited 
most  parts  of  the  house  my  curiosity  wished  to  see,  there  only 
remained  one  apartment  in  the  second  story,  which,  for  reasons 
I  do  not  think  proper  here  to  mention,  I  desired  to  visit,  before 
I  left  the  house.  We  accordingly  proceeded  thither.  But 
here,  as  usual,  while  as  yet  we  had  scarcely  come  within  sight 
of  the  door,  which  led  to  this  fair  and  beautiful  chamber,  for  it 
appeared  to  have  been  fitted  up  with  more  than  usual  pomp  and 
elegance,  these  hopeful  figures  crossed  us,  and  forbid  our  en- 
trance. My  surprise,  on  seeing  them,  yet  at  a  distance,  was 
redoubled,  and  I  could  not  but  remark  to  my  guides,  that  this 
extraordinary  triumvirate  must  either  be  supernatural  beings, 
taking  no  time  for  change  of  place,  as  I  was  sure  they  could 
not  be  omnipresent,  or  else  there  must  be  a  great  number  of  an 
appearance  too  similar  to  admit  of  discrimination. 

"They  are  not  men,"  said  Truth,  "but  phantoms,  which 
Almighty  Providence  has  given  the  semblance  of  men,  and  they 
personate  the  spirit  and  disposition  of  men  of  a  certain  descrip- 
tion. They  appear  to  the  eye  of  reason  in  every  place,  where 
a  spirit  of  bigotry,  intolerance ,  and  persecution  are  found  ;  and 
they  act,  ostensibly,  as  men  of  that  description  would  act  did 
they  feel  no  restraint  from  motives  of  interest  and  policy.  No 
eye  sees  them  in  these  buildings,  nor  is  the  number  great  who 
feel  the  disposition  they  represent.  Yet  they  have  their  follow- 
ers, whose  real  characters  are  closely  veiled,  and  who,  under  the 
cloak  of  orthodoxy,  cherish  bigotry  ;  who  hide  intolerance  in 
the  pretence  of  zeal  for  the  truth,  and  indulge  the  bitterest  spirit 
of  persecution  under  a  show  of  vigilance  and  activity  to  promote 
sound  doctrine  and  discipline.  But  they  are  as  destitute  of  sound 
policy  as  they  are  remote  from  the  truth  and  the  love  of  God .  By 
disclosing  too  openly  the  malignity  of  their  hearts,  and  baseness 
of  their  principles,  they  shall  open  the  eyes  of  mankind  upon 
their  true  characters,  which  shall  be  as  much  detested  among 
men,  as  they  are  abhorred  in  the  sight  of  God.  This  is  your 
last  interview  with  them,  and  from  what  you  now  see,  you  may 
judge  of  their  final  catastrophe." 

As  Truth  and  Toleration  drew  nearer,  these  semblances   of 


283 

men  seemed  to  grow  more  frightful  in  their  appearance.  Their 
features  turned  to  the  colour  of  ashes,  grew  indistinct,  and  lengthen- 
ed into  a  distortion  beyond  all  human  visage.  Their  limbs  seemed 
dissolving,  and  their  stature  suddenly  expanded  ;  they  fell  togeth- 
er into  a  column  of  smoke,  which  rolled  along  the  wall,  and  was 
soon  dissipated  by  a  current  of  air. 

Truth  at  this  moment  seemed  to  become  more  awfully  re- 
splendent in  her  features,  and  more  majestic  in  her  form.  Turn- 
ing to  me,  she  said,  "  Go,  young  man,  and  be  a  faithful  wit- 
ness for  truth  in  the  church  of  Christ,  and  in  the  world.  Er- 
ror, bigotry,  and  prejudice  with  all  their  train,  are  but  empty 
shadows  :  they  have  no  power  in  themselves.  If  they  at  times 
give  you  trouble,  it  is  but  to  try  your  patience  ;  if  they  present 
impediments,  it  is  but  to  prove  your  strength." 

My  curiosity  was  no  less  satisfied  than  gratified  in  viewing 
this  building  ;  and  we  accordingly  descended  into  the  courtyard  be- 
fore described.  I  was  now  intending  to  take  a  view  of  the  two 
adjourning  fabrics,  viz.  of  the  Tuscan  and  Corinthian  structures 
which  lay  on  either  hand.  But  Truth  informed  me  it  might  be 
useful  and  pleasing  for  me  to  take  a  different  view  of  these  entire 
structures  before  we  entered  the  others.  She  led  me  accordingly 
into  the  outward  court,  at  some  distance,  where  the  whole  might 
be  contemplated  at  one  view. 

Here,  turning  towards  this  vast  and  threefold  fabric,  she  ad- 
justed the  barrel  of  her  perspective,  which  she  still  held  in  her 
hand,  to  a  future  period,  but  with  no  visible  mark  to  indicate  its 
date ;  she  then  gave  it  to  me,  desiring  me  to  see  what  I  could 
discover.  Having  raised  it  to  my  eye,  and  brought  the  fabric 
under  the  field  of  observation,  at  first  I  perceived  only  an  indis- 
tinct and  tremulous  light  waving  through  the  field,  but  a  moment 
after  the  object  became  clear,  settled,  and  definite.  The  distance, 
indeed,  seemed  greatly  increased,  but  much  more  the  effulgence 
and  glory  of  the  prospect.  These  buildings  now  appeared  re- 
mote, and  separated  from  me  by  a  broad  river,  or  an  arm  of 
the  sea,  where  a  tide  or  current  rolled  with  rapidity  and  fierce- 
ness, over  which  low  clouds  hung,  like  a  sable  curtain,  cover- 
ing most  parts  of  its  surface.     But  beyond,    and  far  above  this 


284 

gulf,  they  appeared  situated  on  a  rising  plain  of  interminable 
extent  and  elevation.  The  fabric  appeared  now  of  one  uniform 
material  of  inconceivable  brightness  and  beauty,  and,  by  the 
strength  and  brilliance  of  its  reflected  rays,  looked  like  a  tem- 
ple "  clothed  with  the  sun."  Multitudes  of  cheerful  people,  ar- 
rayed in  glorious  attire,  seemed  passing  in  and  out  of  these 
buildings  ;  and  the  firmament  of  heaven  above  them  seemed  as 
though  it  might  resemble,  in  purity  and  serenity,  that  areh  of 
the  empyreal  circle,  which  forms  the  glorious  canopy  of  the 
celestial  Paradise. 

My  eye  was  pained  with  the  steady  contemplation  of  such 
brightness,  and  I  was  fain  to  remove  the  glass,  but  here  the  scene 
ended,  and  I  awoke,  and  my  first  recollection  was  the  following 
incomparable  lines:  — 

"  Rise,  crown'd  with  light,  imperial  Salem,  rise  ! 
Exalt  th)'^  towery  head,  and  lift  thine  eyes  ! 
See  a  long  race  thy  spacious  courts  adorn  ; 
See  future  sons  and  daughters  yet  unborn, 
In  crowding  ranks  on  ev'ry  side  arise, 

Demanding  life,  impatient  for  the  skies  !  , 

See  barb'rous  nations  at  thy  gates  attend. 
Walk  in  thy  light,  and  in  thy  temple  bend  : 
See  thy  bright  altars  throng'd  with  prostrate  kings, 
And  heap'd  with  products  of  Sabaean  springs  ! 
For  the  Idume's  spicy  forests  blow, 
And  seeds  of  gold  in  Ophir's  mountains  glow  : 
See  heaven  its  sparkling  portals  wide  display, 
And  break  upon  thee  in  a  flood  of  day  ! 
No  more  the  rising  sun  shall  gild  the  morn. 
Or  evening  Cynthia  fill  her  silver  horn  ; 
But  lost,  dissolv'd  in  thy  superior  rays, 
One  tide  of  glory,  one  unclouded  blaze 
O'erflow  thy  courts— the  light  himself  shall  shine 
Reveal'd,  and  God's  eternal  day  be  thine  ! 
The  seas  shall  waste,  the  skies  in  smoke  decay, 
Rocks  fall  to  dust,  and  mountains  melt  away ; 
But  fix'dhis  word,  his  saving  power  remains  ; 
Thy  realm  forever  lasts,  thy  own  Messiah  reigns  I" 

s.  c.  s. 


285 


No.  II. 

Frequent  allusions  have  been  made,  in  the  preceding  num- 
bers, to  the  religious  tenets  of  the  Reformers,  and  it  is  well 
known  how  the  public  is  imposed  upon  by  the  specious  pre- 
tences of  several  divines,  who  claim  the  exclusive  merit  of 
preaching  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation.  I  had  measurably 
satisfied  myself  with  the  animadversions  already  made  on  that 
subject,  but  an  ancient  and  very  extraordinary  work  having  fal- 
len into  my  hands,  I  deem  it  an  imperious  duty,  and  it  will  cer- 
tainly be  a  very  great  pleasure,  to  lay  some  documents  before 
the  public,  which  I  presume  few  have  seen,  and  many  will  read 
with  interest.  As  to  the  authenticity  of  these  documents,  the 
reader  will  entertain  no  doubt,  after  perusing  what  follows. 
And  I  shall  give  them  verbatim,  in  the  style  and  orthography 
in  which  they  were  published. 

"  These  Articles^  hereafter  ivritten,  were  agreed  upon  at 
Marpurgey  hy  those  whose  names  are  heere  vnder  written,  the  3 
of  Octob,  Anno,  1529. 

"  For  the /r^^,  that  we  on  both  sides  beleeue  and  hold,  that 
there  is  one  only  true  naturall  God,  creator  of  all  creatures,  and 
that  the  same  God  is  one  in  essence  and  nature,  and  three  fold 
in  person  ;  viz.  Father,  Sonne,  and  Holy  Ghost,  after  the  same 
manner  as  was  confirmed  in  the  Council  of  Nice,  and  as  is 
sung  and  read  in  the  Nicen  creed,  in  all  the  christian  churches 
in  the  world. 

*'  For  the  second,  we  beleeue  that  not  the  Father,  nor  the  Holy 
Ghost,  but  the  Sonne  of  God  the  Father,  naturall  God,  became 
man  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  without  the  helpe  of 
the  seed  of  man,  born  of  the  pure  Virgin  Mary,  bodily,  corn- 
pleat  body  and  soule  as  another  man,  sinne  excepted. 

"  For  the  third,  that  the  same  God  and  Maries  sonne,  unsepa- 
rable  person,  Christ  Jesus,  was  for  us  crucified,  dead,  and  buried, 
arose  from  the  dead,  ascended   into  heaven,  sitting  on   the    right 


286 

hand  of  God,  Lord  over  all  creatures,  to  returne  againe  to  iudge 
the  quicke  and  the  dead. 

"  For  the  fourth,  we  beleeue  that  original  sinne  descends  unto 
vs  from  Adam,  by  birth  and  inheritance,  and  is  such  a  sinne 
that  it  damneth  all  men  :  and  if  that  Christ  had  not  come  to 
releive  vs  with  his  death  and  life,  then  had  we  perished  thereby 
everlastlingly,  and  could  neuer  have  come  to  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

"For  the  fifth,  we  beleeue  that  we  are  deliuered  from  the  said 
sinne  and  from  all  other  sinnes,  together  with  euerlasting  death, 
if  so  bee  we  beleeue  in  the  said  sonne  of  God,  Jesus  Christ, 
who  died  for  vs,  and  that  through  such  a  faith,  not  through 
works,  degrees,  or  orders,  we  may  be  deliuered  from  any 
sinne. 

"  For  the  sixth,  that  such  a  faith  is  a  gift  of  God,  which  we 
haue  not  purchased  by  any  foregoing  workes  or  deserts,  neither 
can  attaine  thereunto  by  our  owne  powers  ;  but  the  Holy  Ghost 
giues  and  prouides  it,  as  it  hath  pleased  him,  into  our  harts 
when  we  attend   unto  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

*'  For  the  seventh,  that  such  a  faith  is  our  righteousnesse  before 
God,  for  which  the  Lord  esteems  us  just,  righteous,  and  holy, 
without  all  works  and  deserts,  and  thereby  delivers  from  sinne, 
death,  and  hell,  takes  to  grace  and  saveth  for  his  sonnes  sake, 
in  whom  we  so  beleeue,  and  thereby  are  made  partakers  of  his 
sonnes  righteousnesse  and  life,  and  of  the  benefit  of  all  his  treas- 
ures ;  therefore  al  cloister  lining,  and  Abbey  lubber  life,  as 
unprofitable  to  salvation,  are  utterly  condemned." 

The  subsequent  articles  relate  to  the  visible  ordinances  of 
the  gospel,  viz.,  of  preaching,  of  baptism,  of  confession,  of 
magistracy,  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  &c.,  which  have  no  peculiar 
interest  in  this  place.  In  reference  to  the  holy  supper  they 
say : 

"And  though  it  be  so  that  at  this  time  we  cannot  agree 
whether  the  true  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  bee  bodily  in  the 
bread  and  wine,  yet  ought  the  one  part  to  performe  Christian 
loue  to  the  other,  so  far  as  euery  man's  conscience  will  beare, 
and  both   sides   entreate   the   Almighty   God,  with   al   feruency. 


287 

that  he  would  settle  vs  in  the  right  vnderstanding  by  the  Holy- 
Ghost.     Amen. 

Signed, 

MARTINUS    LUTHER,  STEPHANUS    AGRICOLA, 

PHILIP    MELANCTHON,  JOHANNES    OECOLAMPADIUS, 

JUSTUS    JONAS,  VLRICUS    ZWINGLIUS, 

ANDREAS    OSIANDER,  MARTINUS    BUCER, 

JOHANNES    BRENTIUS,  CASPER    HEDIO." 

The  above  declaration  of  doctrine  was  the  result  of  a  famous 
conference  held  between  Luther  and  Melancthon  on  the  one  part, 
and  Zwinglius  and  Bucer  on  the  other,  together  with  their  princi- 
pal adherents,  to  come,  if  possible,  to  an  agreement  on  the  great 
points  of  religion,  and  particularly,  concerning  the  sacrament  of 
the  supper,  in  which  Luther  could  not  get  fully  clear  of  the  Ro- 
mish doctrine  of  the  real  presence  in  the  bread. 

These  were  the  distinguished  leaders  in  the  Reformation  in 
Germany  and  Switzerland,  and  among  the  best  and  ablest  of  their 
divines.  If  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  statement  I  have  given  of 
the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  in  the  first  series,  he  will,  at  first 
sight,  perceive  it  not  to  difi'er  from  the  views  of  these  great  Re- 
formers. The  ground  there  taken  is,  that  "  original  sin  descends 
from  Adam  to  us  by  birth  and  inheritance,"  and  is  a  part  of  the 
grand  constitution  of  nature,  that  every  thing,  propagated  in  a 
series  of  generations,  shall  produce  its  own  likeness. 

Though  the  view  of  the  leading  doctrines,  in  the  above  state- 
ment, is  exceedingly  concise,  yet  no  part  of  the  Triangle  is  there 
discoverable.  As  to  the  atonement,  it  is  well  known,  to  all  the 
world,  that  the  German  Reformers,  almost  to  a  man,  held  to  the 
doctrine  of  universal  propitiation.  It  was  certainly  so  with  Luther 
and  Melancthon,  Zwinglius  and  Bucer,  and  all  the  ten,  whose 
names  are  signed  above.  But  I  shall  detain  the  reader  with  few 
remarks  here,  since  the  above  is  but  a  quotation  from  a  much 
more  full  and  complete  confession  of  faith,  of  the  Psaltzgraue 
church,  in  the  founding  and  forming  of  which,  Zwinglius  was  the 
principal  leader.     To  that  I  shall  immediately  proceed. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


288 


No.  III. 

The  work  is  entitled, 

"A  full  declaration  of  the  faith  and  ceremonies  pro- 
fessed in  the  dominions  of  the  most  illustrious  and  noble 
Prince  Frederick  V.,  Prince  Elector  Palatine.  Published 
for  the  benefit  and  satisfaction  of  all  God's  people  :  ac- 
cording to  the  originall,  printed  in  the  High  Duch  Tongue. 
Translated  into  English  by  John  Rolte,  and  published 
in  London,  A.  D.  1614." 

The  English  translation  is  dedicated  to  the  Right  Honourable 
Sir  Edward  Coke,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England. 

"  A  full  declaration  of  the  faith  and  ceremonies  of  the  Psaltz- 
graues  churches. 

«  CHAP.  L 

**  That  we  have  not   such  a  detestable  faith  as  is  measured  to 
vs  abrode  by  peace-hating  people. 

*'  Now  to  begin  :  we  protest  before  God,  and  whole  Christen- 
dome,  that  we  have  not,  in  any  sort,  such  a  detestable  faith,  as 
peace-hating  people  ascribe  vnto  vs,  whereas  they  say : 

That  we  deny  God's  omnipotency. 

That  we  make  God  the  author  of  sinne. 

That  we  make  God  to  be  a  tyrant. 

That  we  deny  the  Godhead  of  Christ. 

That  we  deny  the  personal  union  of  both  natures  in  Christ. 

That  we  say,  that  the  divine  and  human  nature  in  Christ  have 
no  actuall  and  working  fellowship  with  each  other. 

That  we  deny  originall  sin. 


289 

That  we  deny  the  power  of  the  death  of  Christ.  * 

That  we  deny  the  necessity  of  beleeving  in  Christ,  &;c.  &;c. 

♦'  Such,  and  many  more  the  like  blasphemies  against  God,  do 
they  accuse  vs  of,  that  we  both  beleeve  and  teach." 

The  reader  will  do  well  to  recollect,  and  keep  in  mind,  that 
several  of  the  heaviest  of  these  charges  are  constantly  urged 
against  the  Hopkinsians,  and  perhaps  he  will  also  find,  in  these 
pious  and  venerable  Reformers,  an  apologist  for  the  Hopkinsian 
doctrines,  which  our  Triangular  men,  who  have  so  loudly  and 
so  long  claimed  all  the  Reformers  as  their  own,  will  not  relish. 
If  all  the  divines  in  the  dominions  of  the  illustrious  Frederick 
Elector   Palatine  should  turn  out  to  be   Hopkinsians,   probably 

the    Rev.    and  most  distinguished  Mr.  M s  will   pronounce 

them  "  unsound   in    the    faiih."     This     denunciation,    however, 
would  not  disturb  their  peaceful    slumbers  in  the  grave. 

The  divines  of  the  Psaitzgrave  church  having  noticed  the 
errors  and  heresies  of  which  they  were  accused,  proceed  in  this 
chapter  with  some  general  observations,  in  which  they  show 
that,  in  these  points,  they  agreed  fundamentally  with  the  great 
Reformers,  as  well  as  the  ancient  churches.  In  the  course  of 
which  they  take  occasion  also  to  enumerate  the  errors  of  which 
Luther  himself  was  accused,  as  in  the  following  paragraph  : 

"  Or  do  not  the  defamers  know  that  the  wretched  fellow. 
Doctor  Pistorious,  now,  at  this  present,  concludes  against 
blessed  Doctor  Luther?  He  writes,  (i.  e.  Pistorius,)  Doctor 
Luther  was, 

A  Tritheist,  who  said  there  was  three  Gods; 

A  Sabellian,  who  said  there  was  but  one  person  of  the  Godhead ; 

An  Arian,  who  denied  the  euerlasting  Godhead  of  Christ ; 

An  Eutichian,  who  mingled  the  two  natures  of  Christ   in   one ; 

A  Nestorian,  who  separated  the  two  natures  in  Christ ; 

A  Valentinian,  who  was  so  mad  headed  as  to  say  ihe  human 
nature  of  Christ  descended  from  heaven; 

A  Marcionite,  who  blasphemed  that  Christ  was  not  crucified 
in  very  deed,  but  only  in  show. 

•'    Such,    and   many   more  the   like    detestable  heresies    that 
wretched  fellow  Pistorious  construeth  upon   blessed  Doctor  Lu- 
ther.    And,  to  prove  the  same  against  him,  cites  his   own  words, 
which  make  a  great  show  to  that  end." 
25 


290 

I  beg  the  reader  to  remember,  that  a  similar  attempt  was 
made  in  this  city  in  which  a  fellow,  probably  quite  as  wretched 
as  Doctor  Pistorius,  garbled  the  writings  of  Calvin  and  Hopkins, 
and  published  a  book  called  the  "  Contrast." 

The  writers  of  this  declaration,  after  shewing  that,  in  those 
points  in  which  they  were  accused  of  heresy,  they  did  not  dif- 
fer from  Luther,  nor  from  the  primitive  church,  proceed  to  the 
second  chapter,  in  which  their  confession  of  faith  begins.  To 
this  I  now  proceed. 


"CHA.P.  II. 

"  What  our  faith  is  in  very  truth, 

"  Now  if  any  man  shall  further  demand,  what  then  is  our 
faith  indeed,  the  which  we  willingly  acknowledge,  then  is  this 
our  answere,  as  followeth. 

"  Wee  beleeue  there  is  one  only  true  God,  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  the  Sonne  and  Holy  Ghost ;  and  that 
accordingly,  there  are  three  distinct  persons  in  that  one  Godly 
Essence,  the  Father  the  Sonne  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  Wee  beleeue  further,  that  the  same  one  God  is  everlasting 
and  almighty,  and  can  do  whatsoever  he  will.  Also,  that  hee 
is  infinite,  and  accordingly  is  present  in  all  places  at  one  time, 
and  seeth,  heareth  and  knoweth  all  things.  Also  that  he  is  just, 
and  punisheth  no  man  without  desert.  Also  that  he  is  merci- 
ful, and  hath  no  delight  in  the  death  of  sinners,  but  that  they 
would  repent  themselves  and  hve. 

"  Wee  beleeue  further,  that  the  same  one  true  God  created 
heaven  and  earth,  and  all  that  therein   is,  of  nothing. 

"  Wee  beleeue  further,  that  God  sustaineth  and  ruleth  all 
things  which  he  created ;  and  that  hee  hath  them  so  in  his 
hand,  that  no  creature  can  stirre  or  move  itselfe  without  will ; 
and  therefore  nothing  can  come  to  passe  without  his  permis- 
sion, whether  it  be  good  or  evill.  Also,  all  that  God  doth  at 
present,  or  permitteth  to  come  to  passe,  hee  foreknew  from 
everlasting,  and  with  well  be  thought  councell  had  determined, 
ihat  he  would  even^  so  doe   it,^  or  permit   it.     Also,  that  he    did 


291 

not  determine  to    permit    any   thing    to    come   to  pass,   but   that 
which  he  could  and  would  turn  to  a  good  end. 

"  We  beleeue  further,  that  in  the  beginning  God  created  all 
the  angels  and  men  holy  and  good,  and  especially  man  in  his 
likenesse,  and  to  blessed  immortality.  But  they,  to  wit,  the 
angels  and  the  two  first  of  mankinde,  did  shortly  after  their  cre- 
ation, fall  from  God  their  creator ;  and  have  by  such  their  fall, 
brought  not  only  upon  themselves  the  wrath  of  God,  but  also 
such  a  pollution  of  their  natures,  that  now  they  can  no  more 
either  will  or  accomplish  any  thing  that  is  good,  which  pollution 
fell  on  the  lost  angels  at  one  time.  But  mankind  inherits  such 
defilement,  together  with  the  guiltiness  both  of  the  first  and  se- 
cond death,  hy  propagation,  one  from  another.  From  whence 
it  is,  that  the  same  corruption  of  mankinde  is  called  original 
sinne." 

Before  I  proceed,  I  must  entreat  the  reader  to  notice  the 
statement  here  given  of  the  doctrine  of  original  sin ;  at  least, 
If  his  object  be  to  discover  the  opinion  of  the  Reformers  con- 
cerning that  doctrine,  and  if  he  be  desirous  to  know  how  that 
doctrine  stood,  among  what  may  be  called  the  doctrines  of  the 
Reformation.  And  I  here  assure  him,  as  I  have  already,  again 
and  again,  that  the  notion  of  the  imputation  of  the  guilt  of 
Adam's  sin,  as  our  Triangulars  hold  it,  at  this  day,  was  un- 
known to  the  Reformers,  or,  if  not  unknown,  was  rejected  by 
them  as  repugnant  to  all  the  dictates  of  reason,  justice,  and  the 
word  of  God.  And  the  talk  they  make  about  the  federal  head- 
ship of  Adam,  as  they  call  it,  plunges  them  but  deeper  in  ab- 
surdity. To  make  a  creature  guilty  of  the  sin  of  another,  in- 
dependent of  auy  moral  desert  of  his  own,  is  a  case  perfectly 
similar  to  charging  an  innocent  person  with  guilt ;  while,  at  the 
same  time,  it  is  perfectly  dissimilar  to  the  case  of  the  imputa- 
tion of  righteousness  where  it  is  not  due.  The  goodness  of  God 
may  certainly  go  beyond  a  sinner's  merit,  but  divine  justice 
cannqt  go  beyond  his  desert,  or  charge  him  with  crimes  of 
which  he  is  not  guilty ;  nor  can  any  possible  constitution,  head' 
ship  ox  federal  relation,  help  out  the  difficulty.  These  terms 
may  indeed  help  out  a  man's  prejudices,  and  cast  a  mist  before 
his  eyes,  but  they   cannot  aid  his   rational  conviction. 


292 

But,  reader,  whether  the  crude  and  rank,  the  horrible  and  ab- 
surd notion  or  imputation  be  true  or  not,  is  not  the  present 
question — but  whether  that  notion  was  taught  by  the  Reformers  ; 
and  I  say  it  was  not.  They  held  that  Adam's  corrupt  and  de- 
praved nature  descended  to  his  posterity,  and  ruined  his  whole 
race.  They  held,  as  in  the  declaration  before  us,  that  *'  Man- 
kinde  inherits  such  defilement  hy  propagation  one  from  another.'''' 
And  hence,  they  were  accused,  precisely  as  the  Hopkinsians 
are,  and  for  the  same  reasons,  of  denying  the  doctrine  of  origi- 
nal sin.     But  I  proceed. 

*'  Wee  beleeue  further,  though  such  a  feareful  fall,  both  of 
angels  and  men,  could  not  haue  come  to  passe  without  Gods 
permission,  and  that  he  appoints  nothing  without  good  conse- 
deration,  yet  is  not  the  fault  of  this  fall  in  any  manner  to  be  as- 
cribed to  him ;  considering  that  hee  so  created  the  angels  and 
men,  that  they  had  free  will  to  turn  to   good  as  well  as  to  bad. 

<*  Wee  beleeue  further,  that  it  becomes  not  poor  creatures  to 
dispute  with  God,  wherefore  he  created  the  angels  and  men  so 
that  they  could  fall.  Also,  wherefore  he  hindered  not  such 
a  fall,  whereas  hee  could  not  well  haue  done  it.  He  is  the 
Lord,  and  his  wil  is  euer  iust  and  good,  though  wee  alwaies  vn- 
derstand  it  not.  The  Apostle  Paul  sahh,  that  God  hath  shut  vp 
all  vnder  vnheleefe,  or  vnder  sinne^  that  hee  might  haue  mercy  on 
all,  that  is,  that  no  man  may  bee  saued  but  meerely  by  the 
mercy  of  God.  By  this  ought  wee,  in  all  reason,  to  let  it  so  re- 
maine. 

*'  Wee  beleeue  further,  that  the  fallen  angels  and  men  could 
not  free  themselues  from  the  almighty  gouernance  of,  but  that 
they,  on  the  one  side,  as  well  as  on  the  other,  are  in  the  hand 
of  God,  and  their  wickednesse  cannot  break  out,  than  as  God 
hath  permitted  it.  And  this  our  faith  is  our  greatest  comfort  on 
earth.  For  and  if  the  wicked  angels  and  men  had  the  bridle  in 
their  own  powers,  where  should  we  bee  able  to   abide  for  them  l 

"  Wee  beleeue  further,  that  though  God  permit  many  sinnes, 
in  the  fallen  angels,  and  men,  and  that  hee  vseth  often  times 
their  sinful  actions  to  accomplish  his  holy  workes  (as  he  did 
the  abominable  deeds  of  Absalom,  to  the  punishment  of  David, 
and  the  treason  of  Judas  to  the  freedome   of  mankinde)    also 


293 

though  he  often  punish  sinne  by  sinne,  and  blind  and  harden 
those  commonly  at  last,  who  with  seeing  eies  will  yet  be  blinde 
(as  formerly  he  did  Pharaoh,)  yet  neuer  the  lesse,  hee  himselfe 
hath  no  pleasure  in  sinne,  much  lesse  doth  hee  prouoke  or  driue 
any  man  thereto  :  but  that  the  precedent^  working  cause  of  all 
sinne,  which  goeth  before  is  onely  and  alone,  the  free  and  vn- 
forced  will  of  wicked  angels  and  men. 

"  Wee  beleeue  further,  that  God  hath  adjudged  the  fallen  an- 
gels to  euerlasting  fire,  without  any  grace  or  mercy,  to  terrify  us 
thereby ;  that  we  m»ke  not  a  iest  of  the  anger  of  God  against 
sinne. 

"  Wee  beleeue  further,  that  God  hath  indeed  lust  cause  and 
power  also,  to  push  downe  the  fallen  men  into  euerlasting  hel- 
lish fire,  without  any  grace  or  mercy.  But  hee  hath  not  done  it, 
but  hath  offered  grace  again  to  man.  And  that  so  he  might  shew 
the  mercy  without  breach  of  his  iustice,  hee  ordained  his  onely 
begotten  Sonne  to  bee  our  surety  and  Mediator,  and  to  take  the 
punishment  upon  him,  which  wee  deserued,  and  so  deliuer  vs 
from  euerlasting  well  deserued  death,  by  his  innocent  death. 

"  To  accomplish  the  said  counsell  and  wil  of  God,  the  hea- 
venly Father  the  Sonne  of  God  our  Lord,  and  Redeemer  Jesus 
Christ,  became  man  in  the  last  times  of  the  world,  conceiued 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  borne  of  the  virgin,  and  like  vnto  vs  in  all 
things,  sinne  excepted.  And  when  he  had  liued  as  a  man  thirty 
yeeres,  hee  began  to  preach  and  to  teach  the  merciful  pleasure 
of  his  heavenly  Father  towards  vs  poore  sinful  men  ;  and  in  the 
fourth  yeere  after  that,  he  was  captiued,  crucified,  put  to  death 
and  buried,  descended  into  hell,  and  rose  againe  from  the  dead 
the  third  day,  and  ascended  into  heaven,  forty  days  after,  and 
set  himself  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father  Almighty  ;  from 
whence  hee  shall  return  to  iudge  the  quicke  and  the  dead. 

*'  And,  therefore,  we  beleeue  of  Christ,  that  he  is  not  a  bare 
man,  but  that  he  is  the  euerlasting  Almighty  Sonne  of  God, 
who,  at  the  appointed  time,  tooke  the  nature  of  man  upon  him, 
and  is  now  together  God  and  man,  and  so  shall  remaine  euer- 
lastingly  in  one  vnseperable  person. 

"  And,  being  thus  at  present,  both  God  and  man,  in  one  vn- 
seperable person,  therefore  do  wee  beleeue  further,  that  all  may 
25* 


294 

be  said  of  him,  that  may  be  said  of  God — all  that  may  be  said 
of  man ;  yet  with  this  caution,  that  euery  thing  must  be  vnder- 
stood  of  him  to  be  true,  the  diuine  thing,  according  to  the  di- 
uine  nature,  and  the  humane,  according  to  the  humane  na- 
ture, &c. 

"  According  to  which  then  we  doe  beleeue,  that  indeed  and 
truth  the  Sonne  of  God  died  for  vs,  but  yet,  not  according  to 
the  Godhead,  but  onely  according  to  the  manhood,  for  the 
Godhead  cannot  die. 

"  Of  the  power  of  the  death  of  Christ  beleeue  wee,  that  the 
death  of  Christ,  (whilst  he  being  not  a  bare  man.  but  the  sonne 
of  God  died,)  is  a  full  all-sufficient  payment,  not  onely  for  our 
sinnes,  but  also  for  the  sinnes  of  the  whole  world.  And  that  hee  by 
his  death  hath  purchased,  not  only  forgiuennesse  of  smnes,  but 
also  the  new  birth  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and,  lastly,  everlasting 
life. 

"But  wee  beleeue  therewithall,  that  no  man  shall  be  made 
partaker  of  such  a  benefit,  but  onely  hee  that  belieueth  on  him. 
For  the  scripture  is  plaine  where  it  saith,  he  that  belieueth  not 
shall  be  damned. 

"  We  beleeue  further,  that  the  true  sauing  faith  cannot  bee 
without  repentance  and  good  works.  For  such  a  faith  layeth 
hold  on  Christ  wholly,  who  was  made  of  God,  not  onely  righte- 
ousness vnto  vs,  but  also  sanctification. 

*'  Wee  beleeue,  further,  that  true  blisse-making  faith  can- 
not be  without  good  works,  yet,  neuerthelesse,  the  man  before 
God's  iustice  seate,  (that  is,  when  hee  is  thoroughly  touched 
with  his  sinnes,)  neither  can,  or  should  beare  himself  vpon  his 
good  workes,  it  so  being  that  they  are  euer  vnperfect.  But 
that  a  man  shall  appeale  onely  and  alone  vnto  the  grace  of 
God,  before  his  iudgment  seate,  which  grace  hee  hath  prepar- 
ed for  V3  in  Christ,  and  take  hold  on  the  same  grace  with  a 
belieuing  heart,  »and  so  shall  God  forgiue  him  his  sinnes, 
and  esteeme  him  iust  for  the  full  satisfaction  of  Jesus  Christ. 
And  that  is  our  meaning  when  we  say  that  man  is  iustified  be- 
fore God,  onely  by  faith,  without  helpe  of  good  works  :  name- 
ly, not  that  good  works  should  be  abandoned,  but  onely  that 
a  man  should  not  put  any  confidence  therein. 


295 

*'  Wee  beleeue,  further,  that  God  hath  ordauied  the  preach- 
ing of  his  gospel  to  this  end,  that  he  would  worke  in  us  faith  in 
Christ  thereby,  and  that  the  same  preaching  of  God  the  Lord 
is  no  iest,  but  that  it  is  his  earnest  will  and  intent,  ihat  all  peo- 
ple that  hear  such  preaching  should  beleeue  the  same,  and 
should  return  to  Christ." 

And  here  I  must  beg  the  reader  to  notice,  that  if  the  atone- 
ment of  Christ,  and  his  propitiation  for  sin,  regards  only  the 
elect,  then  surely  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  non-elect 
is,  indeed,  no  jest,  because  it  is  a  thousand  times  worse.  It  is 
the  greatest  possible  imposition,  in  the  most  serious  of  all  con- 
cerns, to  offer  salvation  to  a  sinner  for  whom  there  is  no  salva- 
tion ;  to  invite  him  to  come  to  Christ,  who  never  died  for  him  ; 
to  condemn  him  for  unbelief,  when,  should  he  believe,  he  would 
believe  a  falsehood.     Thus  it  was  viewed  by  the  Reformers. 

"  Wee  beleeue,  further,  that  mankind  is  so  corrupted  by  the 
fall  of  our  lirst  parents,  that  they  cannot  vnderstand,  or  enter- 
taine,  the  preaching  of  Christ,  vnlesse  God  open  their  under- 
standings by  his  holy  spirit,  and  tvrn  their  hearts  to  Christ. 

"  And  that,  therefore,  the  gospel  is  a  spiritual  worke  of  God, 
which  God  bestoweth  not  upon  all  men,  but  also  that  the  under- 
standing and  the  receiving  of  the  gospel  (or  to  speake  with  one 
word)  faith,  is  an  especial  worke  of  God." 

With  great  pleasure  could  I  go  through  the  copying  this  no- 
ble and  beautiful  declaration  of  the  faith  of  these  able  and  excel- 
lent reformers.  But  as  the  remaining  points  of  it  relate  to  the 
ordinances  of  the  gospel,  and  do  not  involve  the  doctrines 
which  are  specially  called  in  question  in  these  Numbers,  I 
thought  it  needless  to  give  the  whole,  but  shall  close  with  their 
last  article. 

''  And  we  beleeue  lastly,  that,  for  the  most  part,  God  hold- 
eth  his  church  under  the  crosse,  and  will  first  make  it  fully  per- 
fect, and  glorious  hereafter  in  the  world  to  come ;  according  to 
the  patterne  ot  his  sonne,  who  entered  into  glory  by  affliction  and 
suffering." 

Reader,  you  hear,  in  the  above  confession  of  faith,  the  voice, 
not  of  an  individual,  but  of  a  body  of  the  ablest  and  best  divines 
the  German  Reformation  produced,  at  the   head  of  which    was 


296 

the  celebrated  Zwinglius.  —  I  have  only  to  request  you  to  notice 
their  views  of  original  sin,  of  the  atonement,  of  faith,  and  of 
justification.  This  I  do,  because  they  differ  on  those  points, 
in  no  material  idea  from  the  doctrine  called  Hopkinsian  ;  and 
you  will  perceive  how  little  that  doctrine  is  deserving  of  the 
epithet  of  New  Divinity.     But  I  proceed  to  the  third   chapter. 

CHAP.  III. 

"  That  wee  haue  not  founded  and  learnt  such  our  faith  from 
hlinde  reason^  much  less  from  the  revelation  of  Satan,  (as  some 
calumniate  us,)  nor  from  the  weak  writings  of  men^  but  solely 
and  alone  out  of  the  infallible  word  of  God,  through  the  grattous 
enlightening  of  his  holy  spirit. 

"Wee  reade  indeede,  also,  the  writingis  of  men,  especially 
those  whom  God  hath  stirred  up  in  these  last  daies,  against  the 
idolatrous  Popedome,  such  as  were  Luther,  Melancthon, 
Zwinglius,  Oecolampadius,  Bucer,  Brentius,  Calvin,  Beza,  &,c. 
And  confesse,  to  the  glory  of  God,  that  we  have  received  in- 
formation from  them,  and  do  daily  receive,  the  better  how  to 
vnderstand  aright  the  holy  scriptures,  and  to  use  them  to  our 
profit. 

"  But  we  do  not  found  ourselves  in  matters  of  faith  upon  the 
same,  or  any  man's  else,  but  we  found  ourselves  in  matters  of 
faith  onely  and  alone  upon  the  word  of  God,  and  believe  men 
no  further  than  they  can  shew  what  they  say  out  of  the  word 
of  God.  And  that  therefore,  for  that  we  know  that  all  men 
may  faile,  though  they  may  be  as  highly  enlightened  and  as 
holy  as  may  possibly  be,  and  that  God  is  onely  hee  that  cannot 
erre.  And  therefore  we  put  no  confidence  in  man  when  he 
speaketh  of  himselfe." 

In  the  4th,  5th,  and  6th  chapters,  they  speak  of  their  differ- 
ence  with  Luther  relative  to  the  doctrine  of  the  real  presence, 
m  the  bread  of  the  sacrament,  in  which  various  arguments  and 
illustrations  are  used.  In  the  5th  chapter,  however,  they  give 
the  opinions  of  the  fathers,  which  I  shall  quote  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  the  Reader. — They  proceed  : 

"  Tertullian,  who  lived  about  the  yeere  of  Christ  200,  saith. 


297 

The  Lord  look  bread  and  divided  it  amongst  his  disciples,  and 
made  the  same  his  body,  in  that  he  said.  This  is  my  body,  that 
is,  a  representation  of  my  body. 

"  Cyprian,  who  Hved  about  the  yeere  of  Christ  240,  saith, 
That  the  bread  and  the  wine  are  the  body  and  the  blood  of  Christ, 
as,  the  betokening  and  the  betokened  thing,  used  to  be  termed 
with  one  name. 

"  Gregory  Nazianzen,  who  lived  about  the  yeere  of  Christ  360, 
nameth  the  bread  a  sign  answerable  to  the  body  of  Christ. 

"  Chrisostome,  who  lived  about  the  yeere  after  the  birth  of 
Christ,  370,  saith.  The  Lord  hath  commanded  a  representation  of 
his  body  in  the  supper. 

"  Theodoret,  who  lived  about  the  yeere  after  the  birth  of  Christ 
440,  saith,  our  Saviour  himself  hath  changed  the  name  of  the 
tokens  of  his  body,  and  of  his  body  to  the  tokens,  &c.  and  in 
sundr}--  places  he  nameth  the  bread  and  wine,  in  the  supper,  a 
representation,  and  opponent  signe  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ. 

**  Augustine,  who  lived  about  the  yeere  after  the  birth  of  Christ 
390,  saith.  The  Lord  hath  commanded  a  representation  of  his 
body,  in  the  supper. 

*'  Beda,  who  lived  about  the  yeere  after  the  birth  of  Christ  730, 
saith,  Christ  hath  instituted  instead  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the 
Lambe,  the  sacrament  of  his  flesh  and  blood,  in  the  representa- 
tion of  bread  and  wine. 

"  Bertram,  who  lived  about  the  yeere  after  the  birth  of  Christ 
800,  when  some  began  to  beleeve  the  bodily  presence  of  Christ 
in  the  supper,  and  being  demanded  thereabouts  by  Charles  the 
Great,  freely  declared  that  the  bread  is  figuratively  and  not  really 
the  body  of  Christ." 

The  Reader  will,  I  trust,  duly  appreciate  the  importance  of 
the  third  chapter  of  this  work,  wherein  those  real  Reformers,  who 
showed  themselves  worthy  of  that  exalted  title,  disclaim  all 
reliance  on  the  opinions  of  men,  and  all  that  blind  and  stupid 
veneration  for  names,  which  has  wrought  infinite  mischief  in  the 
church  of  Christ,  and  to  which  incessant  reference  has  lately  been 
made,  with  a  view  to  mislead  the  minds  of  the  ignorant  and  the 
credulous. 


298 


A  poisonous  stream  of  antinomianism  has  been  poured  into  the 
church,  audaciously  pretended  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the  Reforma- 
tion.    It  is  time  the  pubhc  were  undeceived. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  III. 

The  Hopkinsians  are  accused  of  the  monstrous,  blasphemous 
error,  that  God  is  the  author  of  sin.  This  point  has  already  been 
considered,  but  as  the  7th  chapter  of  the  Declaration  of  the  Faith 
and  Ceremonies  of  the  Psaltzgrave  Churches,  advances  the  same 
course  of  reasoning  on  that  subject  that  has  been  advanced  by 
many  wi  iters  of  New-England,  I  trust  it  will  not  be  displeasing 
to  the  reader  to  know  what  has  been  the  opinion  of  Christian 
churches,  in  other  ages  and  nations,  concerning  that  matter.  He 
will  at  least  perceive  that  these  reasonings  and  opinions  did  not 
originate  in  New-England,  and  if  the  Hopkinsians  are,  after  all, 
incorrect,  they  still  do  not  deviate  from  "  the  doctrines  of 
THE  REFORMATION,"  or  the  scntimcnts  of  the  Reformers.  And 
in  this  chapter  they  will  hear  the  voice  of  that  prince  of  Reform - 
mers,  the  immortal  Luther,  as  well  as  others  who  were  ornaments 
of  their  age. 

CHAP.  VII. 

"  That  wee  doe  not  heleeue  and  teach  otherwise  of  the  foreknow- 
ledge and  almighty  providence  of  God,  ouer  all  creatures^  and  of 
the  fountaine from  whence  sinne  spring eth,  than  as  Doctor  Luther, 
of  happie  memory,  hath  beleeued  and  taught  thereof 

*'  The  second  point,  which  was  brought  into  controuersie  af- 
ter the  death  of  Luther,  is  of  the  foreknowledge,  that  is,  of  the 
almighty  gouernment  of  God. over  all  creatures,  good  and  bad. 
Of  the  same  wee  haue  heretofore  diuers  times  so  declared  our 
mindes,  that  the  contentious  are  forced  to  confesse  themselues, 
that  there  is  nothing  rebukeable  in  the  same.     Onely  say  they, 


299 

that   wee   haue   aforetime  spoken   and  written   of  that   matter, 
otherwise  than  now  wee  doe  speake  and  write  thereof. 

"  Admit  now,  that  it  were  so  indeede,  ought  wee  therefore  to 
be  railed  upon,  for  that  wee  make  amendement?  But  for  all 
that  they  giue  wrong  information  there.  For  (God  be  blessed 
and  praised)  the  doctrine  of  the  foreknowledge,  or  almighty 
gouernment  of  God  ouer  all  creatures,  hath  been  alwaies  so 
true  in  our  churches,  and  so  cleare,  th;U  wee  neuer  haue  had 
any  neede  to  amend  the  same.  The  reader  may  looke  ouer 
all  the  catechismas  and  confessions  of  our  churches,  which  hee 
can  euer  come  by  ;  and  hee  shall  iinde  no  other  doctrine  there- 
in of  the  foreknowledge  of  God,  than  the  same  which  wee  doe  at 
present  maintaine,  in  our  sermons  and  writings. 

"  But  what  they  accuse  vs  to  haue  formerly  taught,  so  offen- 
sively of  the  foreknowledge  of  God,  and  now  to  bee  silent  in, 
in  summe  is  thus  much.  That  God  hath  not  only  scene  from  euer- 
lasting^  all  that  cometh  to  passe,  whether  it  bee  good  or  bad,  that 
it  would  come  to  passe,  but  also  decreed  that  it  should  come 
to  passe,  for  cause  of  a  good  ende  to  which  he  would  use 
the  same.  Or,  which  is  all  one,  that  nothing  is  accomplished 
without  the  euerlasting  councell  and  will  of  God,  whether  it  be 
good  or  bad,  and  that  the  same  euerlasting  councell  and  will  of 
God  is  vnchangeable.  And  that  according  to  the  same  al  must  so 
come  to  passe,  as  it  cometh  to  passe.  Also,  that  the  permission 
of  God  when  he  permitteth  that  which  is  euill,  is  not  a  bare  per- 
mission, hut  that  God  hath  aiwaies  his  hande  in  the  work,  and 
hee  turneth  and  ordercth  euery  action,  to  what  hee  hath  ordained  it, 
in  his  euerlasting  councell. 

"  Out  of  all  which  they  say,  this  must  necessarily  follow,  that 
God  is  the  author  of  sinne,  and  hath  a  pleasure  and  delight  in 
sinne.     This  the  complaint  which  ihey  make  against  vs. 

•'  Now  it  is  without  no,  that  such  sayings  are  found  in  mens 
writings  as  are  aboue  rehearsed.  But,  neuertheless,  the  same 
are  also  found  in  the  writings  of  Doctor  Luther.  As,  saith  he, 
*'  there  comes  nothing  to  passe  without  the  will  of  God."  Tom. 
6.  Wit.  fol.  520.  A.  Also,  ''  all  comes  to  passe  onely  accor- 
ding to  the  euerlasting  will  of  God,  and  it  must  so  befall  vnto  vs, 
as  he  will."  Fol.  590.  B.  Also,  "  all,  in  all  creatures  must  be 
accomplished,  after  the  diuine  will."     Fol.  527.  A.     Also,  "  let 


300 

the  Diatribe  plot,  thinke,  imagine,  sing,  say  what  they  will,   yet 
hath  God  decreed  from   euerlasting,  that  Judas  must  bee  a  trai- 
tor, then  must  be  committed  treason,  and  it  is  not  in  Judas,  or 
in  the  power  of  any  creature,  to   have  it  any  otherwise,  or  to 
change  his  will."     Fol.   524.   A.     "  Also,  out  of  which  it  fol- 
io wes,  that  it  cannot   be  denied,  that  all  which  wee  doe,  and  all 
that  befalleth,  whether  we  thinke  it  well  or  no,  as  befalling  by 
chance,  and  is  changeable,  yet  it  must  so  come  to  passe,  and 
cannot  be  otherwise,  if  thou  lookest  to  the  will  of  God.      For 
God's  will  is  powerful,  and  will  not  be  hindered.      For  hee  is 
nothing  else  than  the  Godly  force  and  power  itselfe.      And  also 
God  is  the  most  wise,  so  that  no  man  can  decieue  him.     When 
now  his  will  will  not  suffer  itselfe  to  be  hindered,  that  it  should 
not  be  accomplished  in  time,  place,  manner,  measure,  as  G9d 
hath  decreed  and  will  have  it."     Fol.  470.  A.     Also,  "  This  do 
we  also  say,  that  when  God  worketh  all,  in   all  things,  he  also 
worketh  in  the  ungodly,  it  so  being  that  he   created   all  things 
alone,  and  ruleth  alone,   and  moueth   and  driueth  them   accord- 
ing to  his   almighty  powerful  working,  which  no  creature  can 
shunne  or  change,  but   it  must  follow,   euery  thing  according  to 
his  own  kinde,  given   it  of  God."     Fol.  548.     Also,  "  All  peo- 
ple upon  the  earth  find  these  two  principles  printed   and  written 
in  their  hearts,  that  they  must   acknowledge  in  their  hearts,  and 
say  yea  therevnto,  when  they  heare  them  mentioned.     For  the 
firsts    That  God  is  almighty   not  onely  in  respect  of  force,  but 
also  in  respect  to  powerful   operation.     For  the   second,  that  he 
knoweth  all  things,  and  hath   decreed  from  euerlasting,  and  can 
neither  erre  nor  faile.      When  yea  is   said  in  the  hearts  of  all 
men  with   respect  to  these   two  principles,    then  it  followe  by 
and  by,  most  powerfully,   and  certainly,  that  man  can  gainsay 
that  we  were  not,  neither  are  made  by  our  own  willes ;  but  it 
must  so  come  to   passe  according  to  the  will  of  God.     And  it 
also  foUowes,  that   we  do  nothing  that  we  will,  according  to  free 
will,  but  what^  when  and  how  God  hath  decreed  it  from  euerlast- 
ing, and  worketh  according  to  his  councell  and  euerlasting  power, 
which  can  neither  faile  nor  change."     P.  528. 

So  far,  reader,  you  hear  the  reasoning  of  Luther,  on  this  point. 
"  Such  and  many  more  the  hke  sayings  are  written  here  and 


301 

there  in  the  writings  of  Doctor  Luther,  which  doe  afBrme  as 
much  as  we  doe,  That  all  must  so  come  to  passe^  as  God  hath 
decreed^  ordained,  and  determined  from  euerlasting,  and  that  his 
almighty  working  concurreth  in  all  things.  Therefore,  either 
we  doe  not  make  God,  by  this  our  speech,  the  author  of  sinne  ; 
or  Doctor  Luther  must  have  also  made  him  to  bee  the  author 
of  sinne. 

"  It  may  bee  both  are  true,  might  some  man  say,  that  name- 
ly, Doctor  Luther,  as  well  as  you,  did  erre  in  this  point.  An- 
swer :  They  may  faile  that  will,  yet  cannot  God  faile,  who 
hath  spoken  so  euen  in  his  holy  word,  of  this  matter,  as  both 
wee  and  Doctor  Luther  speake  thereof,  that,  namely,  there 
commeth  nothing  to  passe  without  the  councell  and  will  of  God 
whether  it  be  good  or  bad." 

Having  proceeded  thus  far,  in  the  language  of  Luther,  they 
then  proceed  to  give  their  own  illustrations  on  the  point  in 
question.     As  follows  : 

"  For  example,  was  not  that  a  wicked  act,  that  Judas  betrayed 
Christ  1 — yet  for  all  that  Christ  saith,  that  it  was  so  determined 
by  God.  Behold,  saith  he,  the  hand  of  him  that  hetrayeth  me, 
is  with  me  at  the  table,  and  truly  the  son  of  man  goeth  as  it  is 
appointed.  Luk.  22.  21.  ;  and  to  the  like  effect,  as  it  is  written 
of  him.  Math.  26.  24.  (Note.  As  it  is  appointed,  and  as  it  is 
written  of  him,  is  taken  in  the  holy  scriptures,  for  all  one.  By 
which  it  is  manifest,  that  all  that  stands  written  in  the  scriptures, 
that  should  come  to  passe,  in  time  to  come,  was  so  appointed 
by  God,  that  it  should  come  to  passe,  and  that  these  sayings, 
the  scripture  must  be  fulfilled,  and  the  councell  of  God  must  stand, 
are   all  one.) 

"  And  Peter  saith,  whilst  it  was  so  appointed  or  so  written, 
it  must,  therefore,  he  accomplished,  The  scripture  must  have 
been  fulfilled,  whicii  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  the  mouth  of  David, 
spoke  before  of  Judas.  Yea,  not  onely  the  treason  of  Judas, 
but  also  of  'all  the  wicked  deeds  and  murtherous  acts,  which 
Herod  and  Pilate,  with  the  heathen  and  people  of  Israel  com- 
mitted against  the  sonne  of  God,  saith  the  scripture,  they  did 
ichatsocver  the  hand  and  councell  of  God  determined,  before,  to 
be  done.  Acts  4.  28.  Yea,  the  scripture  ascribeth  this  whole 
26 


302 

worke  throughout  to  God  the  Lord  himselfe,  and  saitb,  The 
Lord  would  breake  him^  and  make  him  subject  to  infirmities. 
So  was  the  work  principally  the  work  of  God,  but  Judas,  Herod, 
and  Pilate,  with  the  heathen  and  people  of  "Israel,  were  but  in- 
struments and  tooles  which  God  used  to  accomplish  such  a 
worke. 

"Another  example.  Whereas  the  brethren  of  Joseph  sold 
their  innocent  brother  Joseph  to  perpetuall  slavery  into  Egypt, 
was  not  that  a  great  sinne?  Yet  Joseph  saith,  You  sent  me  not 
hither,  but  God,  Gen.  45.  8.  Did  God  then  doe  it  ?  Then 
did  he  determine  before,  and  conclude  'that  hee  would  doe  it, 
for  hee  effects  nothing  inconsiderately,  but  he  worketh  all  things 
after  the  councell  of  his  owne  will. 

"  Another  example.  Whereas  Sampson  tooke  a  heathen 
woman  to  his  wife,  against  the  expresse  word  of  God,  and 
against  the  faithful  disswasion  of  his  parents  ;  was  not  that  a 
great  sinne  ?  And  yet  the  scripture  saith,  it  came  of  the  Lord, 
Judg,  14.  4. 

"  Another  example.  That  Shimei  cursed  the  Lords  anointed, 
was  not  that  a  great  sinne  ?  And  yet  for  all  that  Dauid  saith. 
The  Lord  hath  bidden  him. 

"  Another  example.  Whereas  Satan  prouoked  Dauid  to  num- 
ber the  people,  and  Dauid  did  it ;  that  was  a  great  sin,  as  well 
of  Satan  as  of  Dauid.  Neuertheless  the  scripture  saith,  not 
barely  and  alone,  that  God  did  permit  it,  but  it  saith  also,  that 
God  did  it  himselfe,  as  appeareth  by  the  plaine  text.  And  the 
wrath  of  the  Lord  was  againe  kindled  against  Israel,  and  he 
moued  David  against]  them,  in  that  he  said,  go  number  Israel 
and  Judah,     2  Sam.  24.  1. 

"  Another  example.  Was  not  that  a  fearfuU  great  sinner  ?  that 
the  unnaturall  sonne,  Absalon,  hoisted  his  aged  and  decaying 
father  from  his  kingly  state,  lying  with  his  fathers  ten  concubines 
in  the  sight  of  all  Israel  ?  Yet,  saith  God  to  Dauid,  not  onely 
I  will  permit  it,  but  I  will  doe  it.  I  will  take  thy  wives  be- 
fore thine  eyes,  and  give  them  vnto  they  neighbour,  and  he  shall 
Vie  with  thy  wives  in  the  sight  of  this  sonne :  for  thou  diddest 
it  secretly,  but  I  will  doe  this  thing  before  all  Israel.  2.  Sam. 
xii.  IL 


303 

"  These,  and  the  like  examples,  whereof  there  are  great  store 
in  the  Bible,  doe  manifestly  witnesse  that  the  permission  of 
God,  when  hee  permitteth  that  which  is  evill,  is  not  a  bare  and 
naked  permission,  but  that  he,  also,  haih  a  hand  in  the  worke 
and  he  gouernes  and  turns  it  after  his  owne  pleasure.  Otherwise 
hee  could  not  say,  *  I  will  do  it,  or,  I  haue  done  it.' 

"  But,  yet,  they  are  hard  sayings,  might  ^some  one  say,  and 
they  seeme,  in  truth,  to  import  as  much  as  if  God  was  thereby 
made  the  causer  of  sinne,  and  had  -  a  delight  in  sinne.  For 
how  is  it  possible  that  hee  should  not  be  the  causer  of  sinne 
and  have  a  delight  and  pleasure  in '  sinne,  when  he  hath  not 
onely  determined  the  same  that  it  should  be  accomplished, 
but,  also,  hath  himselfe  a  hande  in  the  worke,  and  moueth  man- 
kinde  therevnto  ? 

"  Answer.  Blind,  mad  and  peremptory  reason  thinks  so  in- 
deed. But  whosoeuer  submitteth  himselfe  to  the  word  of  God 
with  an  humble  heart,  he  shall  well  know  and  learn  to  vnder- 
stand  that  God  is  no  causer  of  sinne,  or  hath  delight  and  pleasure 
in  sinne,  though  indeed  he  haue  ordained  that  this  or  that  sinful 
worke  of  his  creature  should  come  to  ^passe,  and  the  worke  must 
be  done,  yea,  hee  ascribeth  it  to  himself.  The  which  the 
better  to  vnderstand,  by  the  God-fearing  reader,  wee  will  irn- 
part  this  information  in  short,  according  to  our  powers,  for  his 
assistance. 

"  The  Almighty  God,  as  he  once  created  all  things,  euen  so 
gouerneth  hee  all  things  continually  by  his  [prouidence.  There- 
fore the  prouidence  of  God  is  nothing  else  than  the  Almighty 
gouernment  of  God  ouer  all  creatures,  both  good  and  bad,  and 
containeth  two  parts    in  it. 

*'  1.  That  he  maintaineth  the  being  and  power  of  all  creatures^ 
so  far,  and  in  what  manner  it  pleaseth  him  ;  without  which 
maintenance  no  creature  can  be  sustained  a  minute  of  one  hour, 
or  is  able  to  rule  or  moue  himselfe,  in  the  least  measure,  as  Paul 
saith,  hee  giveth  to  all  life  and  breath  and  all  things.  Also,  In 
hime  we  Hue,  and  moue,  and  haue  our  being. 

"  2.  That  he  hath  the  motions  of  all  creatures  in  his  hands, 
and  turneth  them  which  way  he  will,  according  to  the  work, 
which  hee  wiil_  accomplish  by  them  [;  as   Dauid  saith,  they  con- 


304 

tinue  all  hy  thine  ordinances.  Ps.  exix.  91.,  and  the  examples 
manifest  that,  sometimes  fire,  sometimes  water,  sometimes 
good,  sometimes  bad  angels,  sometimes  godly,  sometimes 
wicked  men,  sometimes  frogs,  sometimes  lice,  &c.,  must 
serue  to  accomplish  his  councells.  And  there  is  nothing  ex- 
empt from  such  a  disposing  God.  Euen,  also,  that  which 
seemeth  to  be  already  performed,  as  it  is  written,  The  lot  is 
cast  into  the  lap,  but  tfie  whole  disposition  thereof  is  of  the  Lord  ; 
not  yet  the  very  harts  and  thoughts  of  men,  as  it  is  written. 
From  the  habitation  of  his  dwelling  hee  beholdeth  all  them  that 
dwell  on  the  earth  ;  he  fashioneth  their  hearts  euery  one, 

"  It  is  true,  God  hath,  indeed,  the  angels  and  men  with  that 
kind  and  nature  that  they  can  move  themselves  by  their  own 
free  will,  and  either  intend  this  or  that.  Euen,  indeed,  as  they 
doe.  But  for  all  that,  he  holdeth  the  raines  of  their  free  will  in 
his  hande,  in  such  a  manner  that  either  hee  can  let  them  proceed 
when  it  goeth  after  his  will,  or  hee  can  pull  it  backe,  or  moue 
it  to  this,  or  the  other  side,  euen  as  sometimes  a  man  draweth 
on  a  beast  to  a  snare,  which  he  letteth  either  passe  freely  before 
him,  or  pulleth  backe,  or  can  turne  hither  or  thither,  which 
comparison  God  himselfe  vseth,  where  he  saith  to  the  king  of 
Assiria,  *  I  will  put  my  hooke  in  thy  nostrils,  and  my  bridle  in 
thy  lips,  and  will  bringe  thee  backe  againe,  the  same  way  thou  com- 
est.'     Esa.  xxxvii.  29. 

"  From  Whence  it  may  well  be  said  that  the  permission  of 
God  is  not  a  bare  permission,  but  that  God  hath  alwais  a  hand 
with  them  in  the  action.  For  in  all  permissions  of  God  con- 
curre  these  two  parts  of  the  foreknowledge  together.  First, 
that  he  sustaineth  the  being  and  power  of  the  creature,  even 
in  the  committing  of  sinne,  as  is  well  known.  Second,  that  he 
hath,  also,  their  wicked  and  sinful  motions  in  his  hands,  and  so 
turneth  them  that  the  same  must  be  affected  thereby,  which 
hee  will  have  effected  to  the  furtherance  of  his  glory,  and  the 
benefit  of  his  servants.  Therefore,  hee  also  ascribeth  the 
worke  which  is  effected  in  this  manner,  oftentimes  to  himselfe, 
as  the  abovenamed  examples  doe  witnesse, 

"  The  same  is  one  part  of  the  special  vnspeakeable   wisdome 
of  God,  that  hee  can  so  manage  his  government,  that  he,   also, 


305 

with  those  creatures,  which  yet  doe  what  they  doe,  out  of  free 
will,  and  in  respect  of  their  natures  could  do  otherwise,  yet,  for 
all  that,  can  unfallibly  accomplish  the  same,  which  hee  hath  de- 
termined to  have  accomplished  by  them. 

"  Doctor  Luther  saith  thus  of  this  matter :  If  not  wee  our- 
selves, but  God  worketh  in  vs  our  salvation,  then  cannot  wee 
act  any  thing  bodily,  before  such  time  as  his,  is  there ;  doe  wee, 
frame  wee,  and  worke  wee  it,  the  best  wee  can.  And  I  say 
wee  must  doe  wickedly,  not  that  we  are  enforced  thereunto  ; 
but  as  we  vse  to  say,  it  must  be  so  of  necessity,  without  resist- 
ance, and  yet  not  by  any  powerful  compulsion  or  force.  That 
is,  when  a  man  hath  not  the  spirit  of  God,  then  is  hee  not,  as  it 
were,  driven  headlong  by  force,  that  he  must  commit  wicked- 
nesse  against  his  will,  (as  they  vse  to  carry  a  theefe  or  mur- 
therer  to  the  gallows  against  his  will,)  but  he  doth  it  willingly 
and  gladly,  &c. ;  that  is  here,  by  vs,  called  a  must,  or  a  must 
BE  or  NECESSITY,  which  is  not  subject  to  alteration.  Wit. 
Germ.  fol.  479.  Also,  we  know  well  that  Judas  betrayed 
Christ  willingly  ;  but  we  say  that  such  a  will  in  Judas  was  cer- 
tainly and  unchangeably  to  be  accomplished,  at  the  time  and 
houre  as  God  has  determined  it.  Or,  if  wee  bee  not  yet  vn- 
derstood,  then  wee  must  make  a  difference  of  two  necessities — 
one  necessity  where  a  thing  must  come  to  passe  at  a  certaine 
lime  without  constraint.  He  that  now  heares  vs  speake,  let 
him  know  that  we  spake  of  the  last^  and  not  of  the  first. 
That  is,  we  do  not  speake  of  this,  whether  Judas  was  willingly 
a  traitor  or  against  his  will  ;  but  whether  it  must  come  to  pass 
at  the  time  and  hour  which  God  had  determined  vnchangeably, 
that  he  should  betray  Christ  willingly.     Fol.  529.  A. 

"  This  is  the  construstion  of  vs  and  Doctor  Luther,  how  these 
things  are  to  be  understood  ;  that  nothing  cometh  to  passe  un- 
lesse  God  hath  ordained  that  it  should  come  to  passe,  whether  it 
bee  good  or  euil,  and  that  it  must  come  to  passe,  euen  as  the 
Lord  hath  determined  it.  And  that  the  permission  of  God  is 
not  a  bare  and  empty  permission,  but  that  alwaies  there  is  min- 
gled something  of  his  working." 

They  proceed  to  answer  objections,   and   to  some   further   il- 
lustrations, but  a  sufficiency  has  been  taken  to  show  the  reader, 
26* 


306 

that  their  reasonings  on  this  subject  are  precisely  the  same  as 
those  of  the  writers  of  New-England,  who  are  so  continually  ac- 
cused of  holding  that  God  is  the  author  of  sin.  I  shall  there- 
fore close  this  number  with  a  few  remarks. 

1.  From  the  opinions  of  these  German  divines,  so  largely 
quoted,  it  appears  that  they  believed  there  was  a  certain  divine 
efSciency  in  all  the  accountable  actions  of  creatures,  both  good 
and  bad,  which,  however,  no  way  impaired  or  altered  their  ac- 
countability :  or,  in  their  own  words,  "  that  the  permission  of 
God  is  not  a  bare  and  empty  permission,  but  that  alwaies  there 
is  mingled  something  of  his  workeing."  Less  than  this  cannot 
be  inferred  from  the  nature  and  perfections  of  an  almighty  in- 
finitely wise  God,  who  created,  and  every  moment  sustains,  all 
creatures,  and  all   their  actions. 

2.  They  clearly  perceived  two  kinds  of  necessity  operating 
on  the  actions  of  creatures.  First,  force,  or  what  may  be  term- 
ed physical  necessity.  This  always  destroys  accountableness, 
or  is  incompatible  with  it.  Thus  the  plants  move  by  physical 
necessity ;  and  thus  a  criminal,  who  is  carried  forcibly  to  exe- 
cution, motives  under  a  physical  necessity.  Secondly,  moral  ne- 
cessit)^  which  is  so  far  from  being  inconsistent  with  accountable, 
ness,  that  it  is  essential  to  it.  As  in  the  above  quotation  :  "  Then," 
says  Luther,  "  we  must  make  a  difference  of  two  necessities  : 
one  necessity,  where  I  am  forced  to  worke  by  force — the  other  neces- 
sity, where  a  thing  must  come  to  passe  at  a  certaine  iime.^^ 

Moral  necessity  arises  from  the  infallible  certainty  that  all 
beings  possessed  of  reason  will  act  according  to  their  choice, 
or,  as  says  Jonathan  Edwards,  "  according  to  the  greatest  ap- 
parent good,  at  the  time."  Hence  the  moral  order  of  events  is 
as  established  and  unalterable  as  the  natural  or  physical  ;  and 
moral  necessity  is  as  essential  ]  to  freedom  and  accountableness, 
as  physical  is  incompatible  with  it ;  and  if  this  kind  of  moral  ne- 
cessity did  not  exist,  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as  foreknow- 
ledge or  preordination,  any  more  than  the  frame  and  motions 
of  the  natural  universe  could  subsist  without  the  operation  of 
physical  necessity. 

It  is  easy  to  perceive  that  no  event  can  be   the   proper  object 


307 

of  prescience  or  preordination  which  is  not  either  immediately 
and  infallibly  connected  with  the  energy  of  the  divine  will,  or 
else  mediately  and  more  remotely,  though  not  less  infallibly, 
connected  therewith,  by  its  forming  a  link  in  the  chain  of  events 
infallibly  connected  together,  as  cause  and  effect,  and  which 
chain  must  somewhere  be  connected  with  the  almighty  energy 
of  God's  will.  Or,  in  other  words,  it  cannot  be  certainly  fore- 
known that  any  event  will  take  place,  but  by  its  infallible  con- 
nexion with  a  cause  which  can  and  will  produce  it.  "  Thus," 
says  the  above  quotation,  "  when  a  man  hath  not  the  spirit  of 
God,  then  is  hee  not  driuen,  as  it  were  headlong,  by  force,  that 
he  must  commit  wickednesse  against  his  will,  but  he  doth  it 
willingly  and  gladly  ;  and  that  is  here  by  us  called  a  must,  or 
must  be  of  necessity  which  is  not  subject  to  alteration."  But 
this  is  a  moral  necessity  as  above  explained. 

3.  These  writers  had  clearly  in  view  the  distinction  termed 
moral  inability,  though  tliey  did  not  call  it  by  that  name.  Thus, 
again,  as  in  the  above  quotation,  they  say,  "  when  a  man  hath 
not  the  spirit  of  God,  then  is  he  not  driven  by  force,  that  he 
should  commit  wickedness  against  his  will ;  but  he  doth  it  wil- 
lingly and  gladly  ; — and,  in  respect  to  his  own  powers,  could 
do  otherwise,  i.  e.  could  be  holy,  and  obey  God,  yet  for  all 
that  he  must  sin  :  and  although  Judas,  in  respect  to  his  physi- 
cal powers,  might  have  done  otherwise,  yet,  nevertheless,  he 
must  betray  Christ.  A  moral  inabillity  to  do  right,  and  a  moral 
necessity  of  doing  wrong,  always  lie  by  the  side  of  each  other, 
are  of  equal  force,  though  that  force  be  not  physical,  and  do  in 
no  case  impair  a  man's  guilt ;  for  they  are  alike  the  evidence  of 
freedom  and  the  measure  of  guilt.  If  Judas  betrayed  Christ 
freely  and  willingly,  then,  with  respect  to  his  own  physical 
powers,  he  might  have  done  otherwise ;  but,  in  reference  to  his 
moral  character,  he  could  not  do  otherwise.  When  a  traveller 
comes  to  two  roads,  he  certainly  is  fully  at  liberty,  and  has 
physical  powers  to  take  either ;  but  when  he  has  made  his  elec- 
tion, and  taken  one,  then  it  will  appear  that  he  was  morally  un- 
able to  take  the  other,  and,  of  course,  that  what  he  did  was  un- 
der a  moral  necessity ;  which,  as  I  said,  consists  in  the  infallible 
certainty  that  a  man  will  always  act  according  to  the  greatest  ap- 


308 

parent  good,  all  things  considered,  at  the  time.  Whoever,  there- 
fore says,  understandingly,  that  a  man  cannot  act  contrary  to  his 
will,  or  cannot  change  his  will,  means,  if  I  may  so  say,  a  moral 
and  not  a  physical  cannot ;  as  Liuher  in  the  above  quotation, 
when  he  says  a  sinner  must  sin,  means  not  a  physical,  but  a 
moral  must,  or  necessity. 

I  shall  conclude  this  number,  by  observing,  that  as  a  moral 
inability  to  do  an  act  is  as  effectual  a  bar  as  a  physical,  so  the 
influence  or  force  of  moral  is  as  great  and  certain  as  that  of 
a  physical  necessity.  And  I  will  illustrate  this  by  citing  a  scrip- 
ture fact.  "  And  Elislia  said  unto  him,  (Hazael,)  go  say  unto 
him,  (Benhadad,)  thou  mayest  certainly  recover,  howbeit  the 
Lord  hath  showed  me  that  he  shall  surely  die^  The  message 
sent  to  Benhadad  was,  "  Thou  mayest  certainly  recover,"  yet 
Elisha  told  Hazael  that  God  had  assured  him  that  Benhadad 
should  die.  The  murderers  of  Benhadad  acted  freely,  i.  e.  un- 
der no  physical  force  or  compulsion  ;  they  might  have  let  him 
alone  ;  he  might  have  recovered,  yet  God's  certain  and  eternal 
purpose  issued,  and  was  previously  declared,  on  the  inevitable 
operation  of  a  merely  moral  necessity.     They  must  kill  him. 

The  observation  has  elsewhere  been  made,  and  it  ought  to 
satisfy  every  humble  and  every  rational  mind,  that  God,  who 
can  create,  constitute,  and  uphold  a  moral  agent,  can  unaltera- 
bly decree  all  his  actions,  and  can  have  an  efficient  agency  in 
the  same,  and  yet  not  impair  their  freedom  or  accountableness. 
Those  who  raise  an  outcry  at  this  doctrine,  which  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  perfections  of  God,  seem  to  think  nothing  of 
the  power  and  skill  necessary  to  create  and  sustain  a  moral 
agent. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


309 


PREFACE   TO  NUMBER  IV. 


The  triangular  men  are  endeavouring  to  make  common  cause 
with  presbyterianism,  to  engraft  their  scheme  of  doctrine  on  that 
Church,  to  avail  themselves  of  her  reputation,  power,  and  sanc- 
tions, and  to  stigmatise  all  opposition  to  their  tenets  as  neither 
more  nor  less  than  opposition  to  the  church.  This  ground  is  now 
rather  preferred  to  the  old  and  idle  outcry  of  Arminianism !  Sev- 
eral bold  and  successful  sorties  have  been  made,  even  some  judi- 
catories have  been  unfortunately  influenced  by  rash  and  furious 
spirits. 

They  have  already  got  up  their  phrases  and  watchwords.  The 
tessira  has  been  sent  round.  "  Suck  a  man  is  a  good  Preshyterian^^^ 
is  a  phrase  well  understood  to  convey  all  the  properties  and  quali- 
ties of  a  spiritual  triangle.  But  this  expression  imports  something 
far  beyond  the  limits  of  abstract  doctrine,  as  the  following  num- 
ber will  show. 

These  gentlemen  are  mistaken.  The  Presbyterian  church  in 
America  is  never  to  become  a  triangular  pyramid.  It  is  not  to  be 
doubted  that  a  clear  majority  in  that  body,  and,  I  trust,  a  large 
majority  are  on  the  side  of  correct  sentiments.  The  eflforts  which 
certain  persons  are  making  to  curtail  and  suppress  the  right  of 
private  judgment,  and  bear  down  the  truth,  can  neither  endure  the 
light  of  fair  examination,  nor  the  just  abhorrence  of  a  nation, 
which  knows  the  price  of  her  privileges.  "  They  shall,"  I  trust, 
"  proceed  no  further,  and  their  folly  shall  be  manifest  to  all  men." 

The  Hopkinsians  are  condemned  as  odious  heretics,  and  as 
preaching  doctrines  which  flatter  the  pride,  and  corroborate  the 
corruptions  of  the  human  heart.  The  object  of  the  following 
number  is  to  show  that  preachers  may  soothe  the  pride,  flatter  the 
vanity,  and  cherish  the  corruptions  of  their  hearers,  and  yet  never 
preach  Hopkinsian  doctrines.  That  this  is  done  by  many  w^ho 
lay  such  imposing  and  obtrusive  claims  to  orthodoxy — that  it  is 
essential  and  radical  to  their  scheme  of  doctrine,  as  well  as  to 
their  manner  of  preaching,  I  have  the  fullest  assurance :  and  if 
the  reader  do  not,  in  the  following  remarks,  recognise  traits  with 
which  he  is  familiar,  I  will  allow  him  to  doubt  of  their  correctness. 


310 

These  men,  for  it  is  precisely  the  same  class,  are  endeavouring 
to  bring  our  judicatories  into  the  tedious,  perplexing,  and  endless 
formalities  of  civil  courts,  to  adopt  their  technical  phrases,  their 
doctrines  of  precedents,  their  rules  of  evidence,  their  doctrines 
of  appeals,  and  their  whole  modus  operandi,  by  which  it  must 
often  happen,  perhaps  through  some  trifling  informahty,  that  pro- 
ceedings are  varied  or  arrested,  justice  is  delayed,  its  rights  per- 
verted, or  entirely  contravened.  And  if  the  ministers  of  Christ 
are  not  liable  to  forget  themselves  in  this  immense  and  accumula- 
ting mass  of  judicial  formalities  and  legal  subtleties,  rendered  op- 
pressive and  importunate  by  conflicting  interests,  supported  by 
opposition  of  talents  and  parties  ;  if  they  do  not  lose  the  gentle- 
ness and  benevolence,  the  meekness  and  sincerity,  the  integrity 
and  firmness,  which  belong  to  their  character — and  if,  when  long 
surrounded  by  the  appearance,  they  do  not,  at  length,  adopt  the 
manners,  the  arts,  intrigues,  and  corruptions  of  civil  courts,  with 
more  latitude  of  perversion,  because  checked  by  laws  less  particu- 
lar— with  more  pride  and  arrogance,  because  protected  by  an  ex- 
ternal badge  of  humility,  and  with  less  regard  to  truth,  because 
in  a  wider  field  of  construction — then  perhaps  there  is  no  danger ; 
and  neither  argument,  expostulation,  or  sarcasm,  are  necessary. 


311 

No.  IV. 
A  GOOD  PRESBYTERIAN. 

This  is  surely  a  most  desirable  article.  For  every  thing  to 
be  good  according  to  its  kind,  would  be  "  a  consummation  de- 
voutly to  be  wished,"  both  in  the  natural  and  moral  world.  For 
every  handicraftsman  to  be  a  good  mechanic — every  one  who 
commands  a  vessel  to  be  a  good  navigator — every  agriculturist 
a  good  farmer — every  clerk  a  good  accountant — every  member 
of  the  national  counsels  a  good  statesman — every  clergyman  a 
good  preacher,  and  every  professor  of  religion  a  good  christian, 
would  have  a  happy  influence  on  the  welfare  of  society. 

But  I  often  hear  the  phrase,  a  good  preshyterian,  used  with  an 
air  of  significance,  with  certain  intonations  of  voice,  and  expres- 
sions of  countenance,  which  seem  to  indicate  something  border- 
ing on  an  occult  meaning.  To  come  plainly  to  the  point,  this 
is  a  phrase  almost  exclusively  belonging  to  the  triangular  scheme. 
1  have  seldom  heard  it  used  but  by  gentlemen  of  that  order,  or 
as  an  echo  from  them,  or  in  some  allusion  or  reference  to  that 
source.  It  surely  cannot  be  but  that  there  must  be  many  good 
presbyterians  out  of  the  triangle  ;  if  by  good  is  intended  the 
common  import  of  that  term,  that  is,  they  are  presbyterians  in 
sentiment,  and  good  men  ;  but  whether  they  are  good  prjeshyte- 
rians,  with  a  nod  of  the  head,  with  a  little  flexure  of  the  cervi- 
cal muscles  to  the  left  shoulder,  an  approximation  of  the  eye- 
brows, and  a  curl  of  sentiment,  half  mystery,  and  half  threat, 
descending  to  the  upper  lip,  the  reader  may  be  better  able  to 
determine  in  the  sequel  of  this  number.  Among  the  rhetorical 
characteristics  of  this  phrase,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  have  said  it  is 
usually  pronounced  with  an  emphasis  on  the  word  presbyterians 
and  a  strong  accent  on  the  antipenultimate  syllable  te. 

Since  the  words  virtue,  and  disinterestedness,  and  holiness, 
and  charity,  and  morality,  fare  so  badly  among  them,  I  am 
heartily  glad  to  have  them  so  thoroughly   adopt  one  good  term 


S13 

and  I  am  not  unwilling  to  allow  them  the  merit  of  being  good 
presbyterians,  as  far  as  I  have  evidence  to  believe  they  are 
good  men. 

I  have  been  at  some  pains  to  discover  the  true  technical  im- 
port of  this  phrase ;  and  to  discover  all  its  meaning  is  not  the 
work  of  a  moment.  Dictionaries  or  encyclopaedias  are  of  no  use  ; 
for  the  terms  are  used  to  convey  an  import  entirely  remote  from 
their  lexicographic  definition.  It  reminds  me  of  some  astronomi- 
cal discoveries  which  have  been  made  by  a  long  course  of  ob- 
servation, in  which  patience,  vigilance,  and  perseverance  alone, 
could  arrive  at  the  desired  end.  The  process  necessary  to  the 
discovery  is  something  like  a  physician  carefully  watching  the 
diagnostics  of  a  lingering  disease,  in  order  that  he  may  thereby 
arrive  at  its  remote  and  approximate  causes,  and  the  indications 
of  cure.  With  what  success  I  have  pursued  this  subject,  the 
reader  will  certainly  judge  for  himself,  but  I  suspect  I  have 
nearly  completed  the  work,  and  I  shall  immediately  lay  before 
the  world  the  result  of  my  observations. 

One  thing,  however,  must  be  premised :  This  phrase  relates 
entirely  to  clergymen.  As  for  a  layman,  all  that  is  wanted  of 
him  is  to  be  a  good  ministerial  man  ;  which  is  a  different  affair 
from  being  a  good  presbyterian ;  though  in  its  place  not  much 
less  important.  The  term  good^  even  in  this  minor  phrasC;  has 
no  relation  to  moral  goodness,  of  course,  since  no  such  thing  is 
known  in  all  the  triangular  regions.  But  if  I  am  able  to  suc- 
ceed to  my  mind  in  the  present  article,  I  may  perhaps  give 
the  reader  a  small  number  on  the  qualifications  of  the  good  min- 
isterial layman, 

A  good  presbyterian,  then,  is  a  clergyman  possessed  of  the 
following  qualifications  : 

I.  He  is  thoroughly  opposed  to  metaphysics  ;  I  mean  meta- 
physics according  to  the  triangular  scheme.  Let  no  reader  start 
at  this  assertion,  and  conclude  it  to  be  extravagant — not  even 
the  good  presbyterians  themselves — for  I  think  I  can  bring  its 
truth  home  to  every  man's  conscience  who  is  capable  of  reflec- 
tion, and  possesses  a  good  memory.  They  have  the  best  rea- 
sons in  the  world  for   this   aversion.     Metaphysical    subjects  are 


313 

nothing  but  dry,  curious  argumentations,  and    if   sometimes  true, 
always  useless. 

And  why  should  they  trouble  their  hearers  with  nice  and  te- 
dious arguments  ?  People  are  never  the  better  for  being  logi- 
cians ;  they  do  not  want  to  reason — tiiey  only  want  to  believe. 
In  allusion  to  tliis,  therefore,  they  seldom  ever  speak  of  chris- 
tians under  any  other  appellation  than  "  believe  rs."  And  surely 
it  is  a  term  used  in  the  Bible.  They  have  a  far  better  and  more 
instructive  method  of  filling  up  their  sermons  than  by  argu- 
ments. They  prove  their  points  by  scripture  ;  and  I  have  often 
heard  several  whole  pages  of  scripture  brought  to  prove  that 
the  soul  of  man  is  immortal — that  his  body  must  die — that  there 
is  a  future  state,  &;c. 

It  is  of  no  consequence  if  every  person  in  the  assembly  as 
firmly  believes  the  point  as  the  preacher.  He  feels  better  satis- 
fied to  make  his  work  strong  as  he  goes  on.  He  must  prove  it — 
and  he  does  prove  it — and  that  is  not  metaphysics.  If  he  takes 
this  text,  "  Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman  is  of  few  days,  and 
full  of  trouble,"  he  will,  perhaps,  1st.  Show  what  is  implied 
in  being  born  of  a  woman ;  2d.  What  is  implied  in  being  of 
few  days  ;  and  3d.  What  is  implied  in  being  full  of  trouble. 
All  those  points  he  will  prove  by  an  abundance  of  scripture, 
without  any  mixture  of  metaphysics ;  and  that  surely  is  preach- 
ing out  of  the  Bible,  is  it  not  1 

I  can  safely  declare,  that  I  never  in  my  life  heard  one  of 
your  real  "  good  presbyterians"  trouble  or  puzzle  his  audience 
with  an  elaborate  metaphysical  argument  ;  unless  the  provino- 
of  a  long  string  of  commonplace  topics,  by  a  still  longer  string 
of  texts  of  scripture,  can  be  called  such.  And  I  leave  it  for 
the  reader  to  judge,  whether  the  good  presbyterian's  sermon,  so 
managed,  does  not  produce  the  best  effect  possible  ;  for  the  more 
points  he  proves  by  scripture,  the  more  will  his  audience  think 
him  mighty  in  the  scriptures  :  and  they  cannot  but  say  "  this 
man  has  prodigious  knowledge   in  the  scriptures." 

Who  ever  read   Euclid's  demonstrations    without   a    continual 
efibrt  of  mind  ?  And  for  a   preacher  to  come  forward  with  argu- 
ments, no  matter   how  clear    his    demonstrations,    that  will   re- 
quire  a  perpetual  intensity  of    attention  from  his    audience,    it  it 
27 


314 

not  cruel  to  exact  from  them  such  painful  attentions  ?  Especial- 
ly, the  refined  and  delicate  minds  of  ladies  do  not  want  to  be 
tortured  with  Euclid  from  the  desk,  when  they  never  studied 
him  at  school.  Is  it  not  certain  that  they  would  be  better  pleas- 
ed with  a  few  obvious  truths,  made  more  obvious  by  scriptural 
proofs,  delivered   in  an   agreeable  manner  ? 

The  triangular  preacher,  or  a  good  presbyterian,  (I  use  them 
as  synonymous,  for  I  never  knew  a  man  who  was  fairly  out  of 
the  triangle  dignified  by  that  apellation,  although,  for  my  life, 
I  cannot  see  why  they  are  not  as  good  as  others,)  has  another  me- 
thod of  proving  his  work  than  by  scripture,  and  far  more  agree- 
able than  by  the  tedious  process  of  argument,  however  demon- 
strative. He  can  with  ease  prove  il  by  the  authority  of  some  of  the 
*'  old  divines.''''  And  this  mode  of  proof  has  one  advant  age  over 
all  others  whatever  ;  however  absurd  the  point  is  he  wishes 
to  prove,  and  however  false  and  ridiculous  the  authority  he 
quotes,  yet,  generally  speaking,  the  proof  he  wants  coming  up 
suddenly,  like  Samuel's  ghost,  out  of  the  sacred  gloom  of  an- 
tiquity, any  opposition  to  the  argument  fares  li  ke  king  Saul — 
is  at  once  knocked  down  before  it.  And  since  t  he  great  ob- 
ject of  gospel  preaching  is  to  produce  "  belief^  in  the  audience, 
the  quicker  that  is  done  the  sooner  that  object  is  gained,  and  it 
is  not  of  so  much  moment  by  what  methods.  In  this  solitary 
case  we  may  almost  admit  that  the  end  sanctifies  the  means. 
I  might  enlarge  on  this  head  very  much,  but  it  shall  suffice  to 
say,  that  the  churches  and  congregations  of  the  good  presbyteri- 
ans^  in  whom  a  full  and  unwavering  "behef"  is  achieved, 
never  trouble  themselves  about  metaphysical  disputes  nor  use- 
less distinctions — are  not  carried  away  with  every  wind  of 
doctrine  ;  and  as  they  believe  that  "  great  and  general  princi- 
ples are  connected,  and  incorporated  in  their  results,"  they  re- 
ceive all  truth  nearly  as  one  proposition,  or,  at  most,  as  included 
in  two  or  three  grand  points.  They  never  admit  of  innovations, 
and  never  depart  from  sound  words.  When  they  hear  a  new 
preacher  they  never  stand  to  examine  his  propositions  or  argu- 
ments ;  but  have  only  to  notice  the  run  of  a  few  sentences,  and 
they  can  tell  whether  it  is  the  form  of  sound  words  Mhich  denote 
a  good  presbyterian.     But, 


315 

2.  The  good  presbyterian  holds  another  advantage,  perhaps 
over  most  other  preachers  in  the  world.  He  has  a  faculty  of 
preaching  the  truth  in  a  way  that  will  never  offend  his  audience. 
But  here  some  little  explanations  will  be  necessary.  By  truth 
I  do  not  mean  absolute  and  certain  truth,  but,  in  general,  such 
matter  as  makes  up  his  sermons,  and  which  he,  in  the  main, 
considers  as  truth,  although  "  it  may  chance  of  wheat  or  some 
other  grain.''  And  by  his  audience  I  mean  that  body  of  people 
who  have  set  down  under  his  preaching,  with  their  minds  made 
up  to  like  him,  for  what  he  is  as  a  man,  and  a  good  presbyte- 
rian. He  may,  indeed,  have  hearers  about  him  who  want  no- 
thing but  metaphysical  jargon  ;  who  will  receive  nothing  as  truth 
unless  made  out  as  tediously  as  Euclid  proves  that  all  the  sides 
of  a  triangle  are  equal  to  two  right  angles.  He  may  have  hear- 
ers who  expect  he  will  work  miracles  and  who  are  so  distract- 
ed as  to  undertake  to  weigh  all  his  and  all  their  own  opinions  in 
the  scale  of  evidence,  rejecting  every  thing  which  cannot  be 
proved.  He  may  have  hearers  who  will  dare  audaciously  to 
rip  up  all  the  sacred  and  venerable  customs  and  traditions, 
which  thousands  of  the  gratest  and  best  of  men  lived,  and  died, 
and  are  gone  to  heaven  in,  and  if  he  cannot  have  them  proved 
by  scripture,  or  by  Euclid,  will  imperiously  and  rashly  reject 
them.  As  for  these  curses  to  society,  and  scourges  of  good 
presbyterianism,  they  may  never  like  him  or  any  body  else. 

But  the  good  presbyterian  has  the  distinguished  felicity  of 
pleasing  his  audience.  For  this  I  have  the  highest  authority. 
A  great  and  learned  doctor  lately  told  a  young  clergyman  that 
there  was  no  necessity  of  offending  people.  That  for  his  part 
he  had  {)reached  the  gospel  faithfully,  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  in  a  great  and  populous  city,  and  had  never  offended  his 
audience.  Perhaps  this  is  a  happy  secret,  known  only  to  the 
good  presbyterian.  I  believe,  however,  it  may  be  traced  out. 
I  believe  I  have  it ;  and  if  so,  I  shall  certainly  claim  some  me- 
rit as  an  original,  for  setting  it  before  the  public  for  the  benefit 
of  all  young  preachers. 

I  have  reduced  this  important  art  into  several  general  propo- 
sitions, and  if  in  discussing  these,  any  else  should  appear  neces- 
sary, it  shall  be  noticed  afterwards. 


Q 


16 


Proposition  I. 

The  preacher  of  the  gospel  who  does  not  mean  to  offend  his 
audience  must  not  disturb  their  repose,  hurt  their  feelings,  or 
trouble  their  consciences  too  much.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
he  must  never  come  near  the  conscience  of  his  audience  ;  that 
will  sometimes  be  admissible,  provided  it  be  prudently  man- 
aged, not  done  too  frequently,  nor  pressed  too  far. 

And  who  can  find  fault  with  this  rule  ?  It  is  well  known  that 
convicting  people  of  crimes  or  sins  will  not  reform  them.  Be- 
sides, when  you  press  the  gentlest  of  anim  als  into  a  corner, 
they  will  not  fail  to  turn  upon  you  ;  much  more  so  will  the  lion 
and  the  wild  boar  of  ^the  forest:  whereas,  if  you  allow  them 
a  range  of  field,  they  will  generally  be  inoffensive.  Far  be  it 
from  me  to  compare  gentlemen  and  ladies,  the  refined  inhabit- 
ants of  great  and  polished  cities,  to  these  terrible  and  ferocious 
animals.  But  there  is  a  principle  of  resistance  in  every  inhab- 
itant of  this  fallen  world,  which  had  better  not  be  pressed  too 
far,  nor  called  into  operation  at  all,  unless  the  strongest  necessi- 
ty require  it.  What  was  the  effect  when  even  St.  Paul  him- 
self reasoned  of  righte  ousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to 
come,  and  made  the  abandoned  and  profligate  Felix  tremble  ? 
Why,  Felix  shunned  him  ever  after,  and  probably  never  heard 
him  again.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  St.  Paul  was  in- 
spired to  do  what  he  did,  therefore  could  not  do  otherwise. 
But  as  ministers  now  are  not  inspired,  or  at  least,  not  all  of 
them,  it  stands  them  in  hand  to  be  cautious  how  they  drive  away 
their  hearers  by  pressing  upon  their  consciences. 

But,  reader,  when  you  see  the  polite  and  elegant  part  of  an 
assembly  disgusted  because  a  preacher  handles  their  consciences 
too  freely  ;  when  the  preacher  thunders  upon  them  so  terribly 
that  the  venerable  head  of  a  great  man,  however  oppressed 
with  drowsiness,  cannot  for  a  moment  recline  in  soft  repose  ; — 
the  lovely  dimpling  smiles  of  some  fair  creature  are  superseded 
by  paleness;  graceful  airs  and  elegant  forms  are  forgotten, 
and  fanciful  dresses,  just  imported  from  London  and  Paris,  shall 
attract  no    attention  ; — what   are   you   to   think,  and  what  wiU 


317 

people  say  ?  Surely  they  will  say,  "  This  man  wishes  to  drive 
us  to  heaven :  but  he  is  much  mistaken.  We  do  not  intend  to 
be  driven  there,  even  if  we  condescend  to  go  there  at  all." 

And  does  not  a  preacher  owe  something  to  humanity  and  po- 
liteness 1  How  much  better  would  be  the  effect,  if,  when  he 
ascends  the  desk,  he  would  adjust  his  features  to  the  lightsome 
air  of  a  gay  and  benignant  smile  ;  would  modulate  his  voice  to 
the  soft  and  pleasant  tones  which  regulate  the  conversations  of 
the  polite  circles ;  and  when  he  comes  to  certain  unpleasant 
and  chilling  truths,  to  crave  the  pardon  of  his  audience,  and  a- 
dopt  some  little  softening  circumlocutions,  such  as  an  expe- 
rienced physician  would  resort  to  in  speaking  of  an  operation 
to  be  performed  on  a  child,  or  some  person  of  delicate  nerves, 
when  that  person  was  present.  At  the  same  time,  the  preacher 
would  find  it  for  his  interest  to  hasten  over  those  unpleasant  and 
frightful  passages  ;  merely  hinting  the  premises,  let  him  leave 
his  hearers  to  draw  the  horrible  conclusions,  when  they  were 
in  a  proper  situation  ;  and  not  force  it  upon  their  attention  when 
in  a  great  and  fashionable  assembly,  where  every  thing  is  desir- 
ed to  be  soft,  charming,  and  polite,  and  every  well-bred  person 
must  appear  sprightly  and  gay. 

Much  more  might  be  said  on  this  subject,  and  the  young 
preacher  may  be  assured  there  is  something  in  it.  If  he  is  fre- 
quent and  pungent  in  his  attempts  to  reach  and  alarm  the 
consciences  of  his  hearers,  they  will  dislike  him:  the  refined 
audiences  of  great  cities  will  esteem  him  coarse,  vulgar,  impru- 
dent, and  inhuman.  Philosophers  will  smile  at  his  rawness  and 
want  of  knowledge  :  tlie  ladies  will  style  him  by  no  means  an 
agreeable  preacher;  his  most  point-blank  shots  will  fall  from 
the  aged  as  hail  from  a  rock  of  adamant ;  and  they  will  look  up 
at  him  and  seem  as  though  they  would  say  "  Young  man,  we 
have  often  seen  young  men  as  zealous  and  confident  as  you 
are  :"  and  it  is  a  chance  if  the  young  and  gay  do  not  avoid  him. 

The  old  divine  I  spake  of,  no  doubt  knew  every  shade  and 
feature  of  the  human  character ;  he  knew  well  how  to  manage 
these  things.  No  wonder,  then,  that  he  preached  for  so  many 
years,  and  never  gave  offence. 

27* 


318 


Proposition  II. 

A  minister  of  the  gospel,  who  doss  not  mean  to  give  offence, 
must  not  cause  his  audience  to  mistrust  that  he  aims  at  their 
vices.  He  may,  and  must  preach  rousingly  against  vice  and  in- 
fidelity ;  but  so  sure  as  one  of  his  hearers  finds  his  own  vice  se- 
verely touched,  he  will  be  offended.  I  know  a  great  and  popu- 
lar divine  in  this  city,  who  will  boldly  compare  infidels  to  dogs 
and  wild  beasts  ;  but  he  never  gives  offence.  He  does  it  so  wit- 
tily they  like  him  the  better. 

The  case  of  Nathan's  reproof  to  David  is  often  urged  here; 
and  with  as  little  propriety  as  was  the  case  of  Paul  and  Felix  in 
the  former  proposition.  Nathan  was  inspired,  and  sent  as  a 
prophet  to  reprove  king  David.  But  who  claims  inspiration  ? 
And,  reader,  supposing  you  knew  yourself  to  be  in  the  habit  of 

telling  lies  ;  would  you  like  it  if  Mr.  B should  meet  you  in 

the  street  to-morrow,  and  that,  too,  before  a  great  number  of  peo- 
ple, and  should  say  to  you,  "  Sir,  you  are  a  liar  ?"  And  would 
it  not  be  still  more  uncivil  and  unkind  to  accuse  a  man  before  an 
audience,  and  at  a  time  when  custom  has  forbidden  him  to 
reply  in  his  own  defence,  to  deny,  palliate,  or  vindicate  his 
crime  ? 

As  this  is  a  point  of  great  delicacy,  it  cannot  be  looked  at 
with  too  much  exactness  and  attention.  And  I  shall  lay  down 
a  few  principles  or  maxims  which  I  have  deduced  from  obser- 
vation of  the  best  models  :  I  mean  men  famous  for  never  giving 
offence,  yet  strenuous  preachers  against  all  wickedness. 

In  the  first  place,  I  would  recommend  to  the  young  preacher 
not  to  be  too  free  in  naming  vices  particularly.  He  may  some- 
times go  so  far  as  to  specify  certain  vices,  which  are  considered 
as  disgraceful  and  infamous  ;  and,  on  some  rare  occasions,  may 
preach  a  sermon  against  them.  But  his  duty  is  to  preach  the 
gospel,  and,  of  course,  dwelling  on  particular  acts  or  parts  of  con- 
duct would  not  be  proper. 

Classification  is  an  excellent  method  of  naming  vices  so  as 
not  to  give  offence.  Thus,  if  one  vice  is  known  to  prevail,  it 
may  be  put  into  a  long  catalogue,  and  pionounced  with  such  ve- 


I 


319 

hement  rapidity  as  to  excite  no  alarm.  And  a  preacher  is  par- 
ticularly cautioned,  when  he  mentions  any  personal  faults  or 
foibles  of  any  of  his  hearers,  to  look,  at  that  moment,  round  into 
a  different  quarter  of  the  audience  from  the  place  the  offenders 
sit ;  otherwise  they  will  infallibly  be  up  in  arms.  And  when  any 
particular  sin  is  known  to  prevail  in  the  audience,  it  may  be 
safely  mentioned,  provided  some  other  sin,  which  does  not  prevail, 
is  mentioned,  soon  after  it,  and  dwelt  upon  with  great  emphasis 
and  severity. 

Let  me  also  remind  young  preachers,  that  all  the  vices  con- 
nected with  we  alth  and  splendour,  under  certain  aspects,  are 
easily  introduced  into  sermons  without  giving  any  offence.  In 
this  form,  indeed,  I  have  sometimes  heard  the  finest  and  most 
exquisite  compliments  paid  to  men  of  fortune  ;  and  then  they 
will  bear  some  tolerably  severe  remarks  about  covetousness, 
worldly  mindedness,  luxury,  and  dissipation.  At  the  very 
name  of  such  a  class  of  men,  I  have  sometimes  noticed  a  dozen 
men  in  an  audience  appear  to  swell  into  a  larger  size ;  they 
would  seem  to  heave  upon  their  seats,  somewhat  like  a  great 
billow  from  sea,  when  first  it  reaches  soundings ;  and  would 
evidently  show  a  conscious  pleasure  in  having  perhaps  the  eyes 
of  one  hundred,  and  the  thoughts  of  five  times  that  number, 
turned  upon  them,  who  envied  them  the  refreshing  reproof  that 
fell  from  the  lips  of  the  gentle  orator.  And  when  the  reproof 
fell,  it  was  brushed  from  their  eyebrows,  without  pain  or  effort, 
and  perhaps  with  a  smile  that  reflected  the  orator's  compliment, 
while  half  the  audience  would  say,  in  their  hearts,  "  0  that  I 
could  merit  such  reproofs  !" 

But  the  preacher  ^who  makes  his  hearers  feel  the  force  of  his 
censures,  and  the  smart  of  conviction,  will  create  uneasiness, 
will  procure  for  himself  enemies,  and,  perhaps,  ultimately  en- 
danger his  salary.  Those  who  will  not  be  instructed  by  these 
observations  must  taste  the  fruits  of  their  temerity. 

Before  I  leave  this  proposition,  it  is  important  to  observe, 
that  there  are  certain  collateral  topics  which  should  always  be 
associated  with  preaching  againt  particular  vices.  Nothing  is 
more  agreeable  to  persons  guilty  of  particular  sins  than  to  hear 
it    urged,  that,   after    all,    it  makes    but    little  difference  that 


320 

those  whose  exterior  is  irreproachable,  are  generally,  perhaps, 
as  wicked  in  some  other  way.  Or  if,  perhaps,  they  are  not  as 
wicked,  it  is  no  thanks  to  them  that  they  are  not  a  great  deal 
worse  than  their  neighbours.  And  this,  which  is  no  doubt  a 
truth,  may,  at  the  same  time,  be  uselul  to  that  part  of  the 
audience  who  are  not  guilty  of  outbreaking  sins ;  lest  they 
should  be  tempted  to  boast  and  glory  over  others.  And  is  it 
not  a  hard  thing  that  those  who  are  guilty  of  no  immoral  overt 
acts  should  not  be  allowed  some  credit  for  their  morality. 
Some  care  must  be  bestowed  on  the  moral  part  of  the  audi- 
ence ;  lest,  when  their  ascendency  over  the  vicious  and  pro- 
fane is  denied  or  lessened,  they  are  not  also  offended.  But 
this  will  be  provided  for  in  another  part  of  the  subject. 

The  grand  object  is  to  preach  the  truth,  and  yet  not  offend 
any  body ;  in  order  to  which  one  general  observation  is  of  al- 
most universal  use,  and  it  applies  with  great  force  to  preaching 
against  vice  and  open  immorality.  There  should  be  a  soft- 
ness, an  urbanity,  a  "mellowness,"  gs  I  have  sometimes  heard 
it  styled,  in  all  the  compositions,  and  addresses,  and  style,  and 
manner  of  a  preacher.  A  single  qualifying  term  will  turn  the 
arrow  aside  : — a  softening  epithet  will  wrap  its  point  in  silk ; — 
a  gentle  pull  at  the  bow  will  make  it  fall  short  of  the  mark,  or 
if  the  speaker  will  display  all  his  energies,  he  may,  by  one  kind 
adjective,  or  adverb,  raise  it  over  the  heads  of  his  audience, 
and  then  his  bow  may  twang  with  dreadful  sound,  and  the 
hissing  arrow  cut  the  ethereal  arch,  and  like  that  of  Acestes 
take  fire  in  the  clouds ;  and  the  hearers  will  all  rejoice  that 
they  are  safe  while  such  dreadful  bolts  are  flying. 

"   T6|'  wuoioiv  eXivv  an(f>r}^t<pta  vt  fapirptjv 

Many  a  frightful  storm  of  eloquence  against  vice  have  I  heard, 
which  brought  to  my  mind  the  grand  fire-works  of  Catherine  II. 
in  honour  of  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia.  The  line  was  five  miles 
in  length,  and  the  imperial  court  were,  for  two  hours,  seated 
under  a  continuous  arch  of  brilliant  flame. 


321 


Proposition  III. 

Great  care  must  be  used  in  preaching  against  hypocrisy: 
there  is,  perhaps,  no  class  of  men  so  unwiHing  to  be  detected 
as  hypocrites.  It  is  not  so  much  on  their  own  account  ;  for  they 
are  generally  pretty  well  satisfied,  in  their  own  minds,  what  they 
are,  which  is  the  cause  of  their  extreme  sensibility,  but  they  are 
unwilling  to  be  laid  open  before  others.  And  this  rule  applies 
with  nearly  equal  force  to  all  the  vices  of  the  mind,  such  as  pride, 
malice,  covetousness,  and  others. 

What,  then,  must  be  said  by  the  preacher  in  the  case  of 
hypocrites  ?  For  surely  their  case  cannot  be  passed  over 
in  silence.  They  are  known  to  be  numerous,  and  their  case 
is  a  most  prominent  one.  There  may  be  some  preachers  who 
are  hypocrites  themselves,  and  they  will  have  the  advantage  of 
possessing  a  kind  of  moral  sense  about  them,  which  will  natu- 
rally keep  them  on  the  side  of  prudence.  Yet  the  desire  (I 
will  not  call  it  ambition)  they  may  have  to  be  thought  pungent, 
powerful,  and  faithful  preachers,  may  sometimes  carry  them  too 
far. 

The  first  rule  is  never,  or  very  seldom,  to  preach  against  hy- 
pocrisy professedly  ;  for  it  is  a  certain  fact,  that  the  delicate 
nerves  and  refined  feelings  of  that  class  of  people  never  can 
long  endure  the  steady  contemplation  of  that  picture,  even  though 
drawn  in  its  most  favourable  colours ;  but,  certainly,  if  painted 
in  all  its  hideous  deformity,  they  will  rise  into  opposition,  pro- 
vided they  should  not  sink  under  conviction — a  case  very  impro- 
bable. 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  not  best  for  the  preacher  to  intimate 
any  suspicion  that  there  are  hypocrites  in  his  audience.  For 
he  will  thereby  subject  himself  to  the  charge  of  judging  hearts, 
and  of  being  unkind  and  uncharitable  in  his  feelings.  Prophets 
and  apostles  might  lay  and  substantiate  such  charges,  but  unin- 
spired preachers  have  no  right  to  accuse  their  hearers  of  more 
than  they  can  prove  in  for o  ecclcsim. 

In  the  third  place,  when  hypocrisy  is,  if  it  ever   is  directly 


322 

mentioned,  or  a  little  enlarged  upon,  it  should  be  done  with  a 
gentle  hand,  and  in  a  mild  and  mellow  style  and  manner,  as 
though  the  preacher  could  by  no  means,  for  a  moment,  harbour 
the  idea  that  any  thing  like  it  was  among  his  people  ;  yet,  lest 
there  might  be  danger,  he  should  tenderly  and  most  politely  per- 
suade them  to  be  careful  in  comparing  their  characters  with  our 
great  standards,  and  see  to  it  that  there  was  no  deficiency. 
Methinks  I  can  almost  hear  him  with  a  grave  and  benignant  smile 
say  thus  : 

"  Brethren,  I  cannot  make  you  more  duly  sensible  than  you 
are,  how  important  it  is  that  you  should  be  genuine  and  sincere 
Christians.  Think  not  that  I  wish  to  discourage  or  dishearten 
you.  Let  me  rather  direct  your  attention  to  the  abundance  and 
fulness  of  the  divine  promises.  Yet,  be  exhorted  to  see  to  it 
that  your  faith  is  strong  and  unwavering,  that  you  have  an 
abundance  of  the  divine  spirit.  Be  exhorted  not  to  be  fearful 
and  unbelieving,  and  let  your  sincerity  be  incited  by  the  grace 
of  him  who  has  done  and  promised  so  much  ;  and  since  he  has 
promised,  do  you  see  that  he  fulfils  his  promises ;  yea,  keep  him 
to  his  word." 

And  will  not  an  audience  understand  the  meaning  of  all  this  t 
Will  they  not  believe  it  to  be  an  exhortation  against  hypocrisy  ? 
And  why  should  that  horrible,  disgusting,  unfashionable  word  be 
used  at  all  ? 

Proposition  IV. 

The  preacher  that  would  not  give  oflfence  must  not  argue 
points  too  painfully,  i.  e.  must  never  reason  very  closely,  nor 
very  long ;  much  less  must  he  deliver  whole  sermons,  and  ser- 
mon, after  sermon,  which  consist  of  compact  bodies  of  solid  rea- 
soning. It  matters  not  to  suppose  his  reasoning  shall  amount  to 
demonstration  in  every  case,  for  that  would  be  so  much  the  worse.  , 
He  will  fail  of  his  grand  object — he  will  give  offence. 

Several  bad  consequences  will  follow  this  mode  of  preaching. 

1.  The  entire  frame  of  the  Triangular  doctrine  depends  on 
what    some  might  perhaps  style  mystery  and  ^^  faith.^^     They 


323 

cannot  be  supported  by  reasoning ;  let  any  one  attempt  it,  and, 
in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  they  will  fall  to  the  ground.  This  has 
been  often  tried,  and  has  often  had  a  similar   result.     But, 

2.  Such  a  strain  of  argumentative  preaching  would  produce 
a  metaphysical  taste  in  the  hearers,  who  would  soon  arrive  at 
that  pass  that  they  would  take  no  pleasure  in  loose,  incohe- 
rent, and  declamatory  sermons  ;  and  would  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  but  a  systematic  strain  of  reasoning.  The  young 
preacher  should,  therefore,  make  his  discourses  as  declamatory 
as  possible,  which  will  give  scope  for  eneri^y,  zeal,  and  pathos ; 
and  provided  he  introduces  a  great  many  passages  of  scripture, 
he  will  save  himself  from  the  charge  of  being  a  common -place 
preacher. 

3  Declamatory  sermons,  with  little  or  no  argument,  are  com- 
posed v/ith  incomparably  less  mental  labour  than  those  which 
are  truly  argumentative  and  demonstrative.  Hence,  they  are 
far  easier  to  every  grade  of  talent,  and,  in  fact,  may  be  acquired 
by  men  of  the  most  inferior  talents.  In  a  great  dearth  of  ta- 
lents, therefore,  who  would  not  think  it  the  most  safe  course  to 
condemn  and  reject  argumentative  preaching  as  useless,  for  the 
sake  of  adopting  a  plan  far  more  easy  and  sure  of  success  ?  nay, 
if  well  followed  up,  sure  of  acquiring  for  a  man  the  reputation 
of  great  talents.  For,  reader,  it  is  a  fact,  that  some  of  our  most 
wonderfully  great  men  are  nothing  more  than  mere  declaimers. 
They  have  a  good  deal  of  promptness  and  confidence  about  them  ; 
can  look  as  wise  as  any  man  living ;  can  assert  roundly,  and 
doing  this,  most  people  neither  know  nor  care  whether  the  dis- 
course is  made  up  of  truisms,  common-places,  or  any  thing  else, 
provided  the  horrible  Hopkinsian  metaphysical  arguments  are 
avoided. 

Tills  matter  is  so  extremely  important  that  I  must  add  some- 
thing, for  which  some  of  my  readers  may  have  cause  to  thank 
me  for  being  tedious.  I  will  put  a  secret  talisman  into  the 
hands  of  the  simplest,  most  feeble,  and  insipid  young  man, 
whereby,  in  a  few  years,  he  shall  have  two  great  D's  added 
to  his  name.  Let  him  but  go  through  college,  no  matter 
how  lazy  and  idle  he  is,  he  must  haggle  down  a  little   Latin,  and 


324 

a  very  little  of  tupto,  tuplise,  &c. ;  then  let  him  go  to  the  the- 
ological school,  and  fall  boldly  at  the  Hebrew,  read  the  first  verse 
of  Genesis,  and  one  or  two  in  Psalms.  Philosophy,  mathematics, 
history,  and  works  of  taste,  are  of  no  consequence  to  him.  He 
must,  by  and  by,  attack  biblical  criticism,  and  learn  how  to  cor- 
rect the  translation  in  a  dozen  or  twenty  places  :  make  a  little 
noise  about  Campbell  and  Stuart,  overthrow  Locke  and  Edwards, 
which  he  can  do  in  a  fortnight,  turn  over  a  few  old  Latin  books, 
such  as  Turretin,  Pictete,  and  Rigeley,  read  a  little  in  the  exposi- 
tors and  systeraatics,  patch  up  an  exegesis,  and  write  some 
exercises.  He  need  not  read  much  ;  must  copy  a  great  deal ; 
must  talk  a  great  deal ;  think  little ;  never  reason ;  it  is  always 
better  to  assert,  and  leave  the  onus  prohandi  to  be  made  out  by 
such  as,  in  their  dull  wisdom,  may  want  it. 

In  short,  as  to  learning,  he  may  get  more  or  less  as  he  pleases ; 
his  grand  object  is  to  arrive  at  licensure,  then  the  important 
task  commences.  In  his  sermons,  frequent  quotations  from  the 
old  divines,  and  the  standards,  will  be  important.  It  will  be 
unlucky  if  he  can  get  nothing  from  the  old  divines  :  and,  reader, 
I  simply  ask  the  question,  whether  he  may  not  sometimes  quote 
a  sentence  from  some  old  divine,  even  although  he  never  saw 
the  book,  provided  he  is  sure  he  does  not  differ  from  that  author  ? 
For  instance,  he  may  sometimes  remark,  "  as  says  the  learned 
and  pious  Limborch  or  Pictete."  For  it  would  be  a  wonder, 
indeed,  if  Limborch  or  Pictete  did  not  say  that  thing  at  one 
time  or  another.  This  would  be  a  great  help  to  him  on  va- 
rious occasions. 

But  this  young  man  must  preach  soundly  and  roundly  the 
triangle  ;  must  assert  that  mankind  have  no  manner  of  ability 
to  do  any  thing  ; — must  have  such  terms  as  spiritual^  mystery^ 
grace,  imputation^ federal  head,  covenant,  in  every  sentence; — 
must  knock  down  metaphysics,  and  all  trains  of  reasoning ; — 
must  assert  very  boldly,  and  make  his  audience  feel  that  he  has 
authority  and  power. 

His  tones  and  gestures  may  be  taken  from  a  fourth  rate  ac- 
tor, provided  he  can  go  so  high :  he  must  swell  up  his  words 
with  great  pomp,  and  if  he  can  hit   a  little  of  the   Caledonian 


325 

brogue,  all  the  better.  Yet  all  must  be  done  with  a  pretty  air, 
looking  polite,  wise,  sagacious,  profound,  and  as  big  as  possible. 
I  believe  I  need  not  add,  any  thing  like  a  con  formity  to  these 
rules  will  make  the  man  a  public  wonder ;  so  that  even  when 
he  walks  the  street,  modesty  will  often  compel  him  to  lower 
down  his  hat,  and  hide  his  face,  to  escape  the  ardent  gaze  of  ob- 
trusive curiosity. — Dico  quid  scio. 

Beside  these   pulpit   qualifications,    there  are  some   others  of 
great  importance,  in  their  influence,   and  their  best  recommen- 
dation is  that  they   cost  little   labour  or  effort.     This  young  man 
must  early  and  strongly  attach  himself  to  great  men,  and  lead- 
ing characters,  whether  great  or  little.     He  must  never  oppose 
their  measures,  dispute  their  sentiments,  nor  expose  their  foibles  ; 
must    be  ready  to   second  their  motions,    trumpet   their   praise, 
humour    their    passions,    flatter   their   prejudices,    imbibe    their 
ideas,  and  disseminate  their  opinions.     He  must,  indeed,   suffer 
these  men  to  stand  upon  his  shoulders,   and  if  they  now    and 
then  kick  a  little,  not  seem  to  mind  it — that  by  their  influence, 
in  due  time,  he  may  stand  upon  the  shoulders  of  others.     There 
is  vast  science  in  this  system,   from  which  through   a  legal  and 
visible    hierarchy    is    excluded,    with   great    abhorrence  yet   all 
its    benefits     are    coimtervailed    by  a   texture    of  influence  and 
interest,  wrought  into  a  fabric  of  equal  height  and  solidity.     A 
hierarchy  [is  a  real  staircase  cut  round  a  pyramid,  on  every  step 
of  which  men  have  a  level  foothold  firm   and  easy.     But  where 
no  stairs  are   cut  in  the  smooth  steep,   the  ascending  and  super- 
incumbeut  fabric  of   power  is   sustained    and  pushed   upwards, 
by   extended  substructions    of  broad    and   brawny    shoulders  be- 
low.    I   shall   say  little  about  it :  but   if  a  man   would  hope  to 
rise,  he  must  apply  his  shoulders  to  the  timbers    he  can  reach, 
and  it  is  no  great   matter  where   he  begins.     However,  he  must 
bow  himself,  like   Sampson,  but  for   a   difl'erent  purpose.      Yet 
it   will   generally  happen,   that  while  he  pushes   some  upwards, 
he  must  pull  others  downwards.     Thus,  by  a  nice  eye,  a  resolute 
hand,  and  due   dexterity,  he  will  first  perhaps  be   in  cguilibrio, 
then  buoyant,   at  length  rampant,   and,  last  of  all,   salient.     He 
will  then  naturally  plant  his  feet  on  shoulders,  or  heads,  below ; 
but  must  never  cease  to  shove  those  about  him,  that  he  may  rise 
28 


326 

after  them.  These  are  hints  by-the-by ;  and  a  word  to  the 
wise  is  sufficient.  But  here  sometimes  is  witnessed  a  curious 
scuffle,  which  would  give  scope  to  the  pencil  of  Hogarth,  or  the 
pen  of  Butler. 

I  should  now  proceed  to  the  third  and  last,  and  by  far  the 
greatest  quality  of  the  good  presbyterian,  in  the  true  technical 
import  of  the  phrase.  But  the  very  great  importance  of  the 
subject,  together  with  some  original  hints,  seem  to  forbid  it  a 
place  in  this  series.  It  will  appear  in  the  next.  Indeed,  if  I 
have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  lay  down  rules  whereby  a  minister 
may  preach,  and  not  offend  his  audience,  in  this  refined  and 
fastidious   age,  I  think  the  rest  may  safely  be  put  off  for  a  few 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  V. 

There  is  no  point  more  [importunately  urged  by  the  triangu- 
lar divines,  than  that  the  understanding  of  the  sinner  is  as  much 
depraved  as  the  will.  To  make  out  this  doctrine,  they  set  their 
best  metaphysical  powers  and  talents  in  the  most  logical  array. 
There  is  not  room  to  enter  largely  into  this  discussion,  at  pre- 
sent ;  nor,  indeed,  can  I  conceive  that  much  room  or  time  is 
necessary  to  present  the  subject  in  a  point  of  light  both  intelligible 
and  satisfactory. 

The  zeal  which  prompts  these  strenuous  endeavours  to  make 
out  the  depravity  of  the  understanding,  arises  from  their  profess- 
ed desire  to  make  the  doctrine  of  depravity  complete,  affecting 
all  parts  of  the  soul  alike,  and,  as  they  allege,  to  deprive  the  sin- 
ner of  all  opportunity  to  boast,  or  glory,  in  any  thing  which  he 
has,  while  in  a  state  of  impenitence ;  and  to  make  out  his  na- 
tural state  to  be  the  most  ruined  and  the  worst  possible.  In 
their  notions  of  the  depravity  of  the  understanding,  they  find 
,their  chief  countenance  and  support  for  -denying  and  rejecting 


827 

the  doctrine  of  moral  inability ;  for  they  say  as  the  understand- 
ing is  as  deeply  depraved  as  the  will,  there  must,  therefore,  be 
something  in  the  way  of  a  sinner's  return  to  holiness  and  to 
God,  beside  merely  the  want  of  will,  or  disposition  to  do  it. 

If  a  mere  persuasion  could  alter  the  natural  condition  of  men  ; 
if  believing  our  state  to  be  better  or  worse  than  it  is,  would 
make  it  better  or  worse,  there  would  be  a  motive  to  distort  evi- 
dence, to  shut  our  eyes  against  light,  and  to  wrest  the  scriptures 
in  which  our  characters  are  faithfully  portrayed.  But,  as  things 
are,  our  highest  interest,  and  only  security,  seems  greatly  to  de- 
pend on  our  having  just  conceptions  of  our  condition,  without 
which  we  can  hardly  be  supposed  to  receive,  or  appreciate,  the 
remedy  God  has  provided. 

I  shall  convey  my  opinion  on  this  subject  to  the  reader,  under 
the  following  particulars  : — 

1.  The  will,  or,  what  is  usually  termed  the  moral  faculty  of 
the  soul,  is  that  alone  which  has  any  concern  with  sin  or  holi- 
ness, virtue  or  vice,  or  by  what  ever  name  those  things  may  be 
called.  On  the  contrary,  the  understanding,  or  intellect,  is  that 
faculty  of  the  mind  of  which  knowledge  or  ignorance  is  alone 
predicable.  It  is  the  perceiving  faculty,  the  eye  of  the  soul ; 
and,  accorrling  as  it  is  differently  modified,  it  is  the  fountain  of 
reason,  memory,  judgment,  &c. 

Depravity,  as  far  as  sin  or  holiness,  right  or  wrong,  are  con- 
cerned, has  no  connexion  with  the  understanding,  is  not  predi- 
cable of  it,  any  more  than  it  is  a  material  substance,  such  as 
stone  or  timber.  So,  on  the  other  hand,  neither  is  knowledge, 
reason,  memory,  or  judgment,  predicable  of  the  will,  or  moral 
faculty.  They,  indeed,  both  belong  to  the  soul,  yet  they  are 
departments  distinct  from,  and  independent  of,  each  other. 
Whoever  asserts  that  the  understanding  is  depraved,  may  as  cor- 
rectly assert,  that  the  will  reasons  or  perceives  ;  i,  e.  if  he 
means  any  thing  more  than  that  there  is  a  want  of  knowledge, 
judgment,  or  power  of  perception  in  the  understanding. 

2.  By  depravity  of  understanding,  then,  must  be  meant  igno- 
rance, the  want  of  knowledge,  or  of  strength  of  faculty  to  ac- 
quire it.  I  might  more  largely  justify  and  demonstrate  these 
positions,  but  they  will  not    be  denied.     It  then    remains   to    in- 


328 

quire  what  necessary  and  established,  or  adventitious  and  ac- 
cidental connexion  there  is  between  wickedness  of  heart  and 
depravity  of  understanding,  or  ignorance,  by  which  I  mean  the 
same  thing.  And  this  inquiry  will  naturally  resolve  itself  into 
two  parts,  viz.  as  it  relates  to  reason  and  experience,  and  as  it 
relates  to  the  express  testimony  of  scripture. 

1.  The  light  of  reason  and  experience  affords  no  evidence 
that  there  is  any  necessity,  or  immediate  connexion  between  sin 
and  ignorance,  either  as  cause  and  effect,  or  as  inseparable  con- 
comitants. 

Sin  is  a  free,  or  voluntary  act;  and,  for  aught  we  can  see,  re- 
quires and  implies  as  much  voluntariness  and  intellect — as 
much  moral  liberty  and  knowledge  as  holiness.  Sin  is  a  trans- 
gression of  the  law  of  God ;  but  the  great  command  of  the  law  is, 
"  Thou  shall  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thine  heart,^''  Now, 
we  have  no  evidence  that  the  first  sin  of  Satan,  or  of  Adam,  or 
that  any  subsequent  sin  of  fallen  angels,  or  men,  was  occasion- 
ed by  ignorance,  or  caused  ignorance,  i.  e.  necessarily  and  im- 
mediately. 

No  mortal  knows  what  the  soul  is  ;  no  mortal  can  say  that  a 
smful  act  of  the  will  instantly  detracts,  or  cuts  off,  a  single  ray  of 
light  from  the  understanding,  or  renders  the  understanding,  at 
the  next  moment,  feebler  in  its  perceptive,  retentive,  reminiscent? 
or  conceptive  powers.  I  speak  now  of  the  light  of  reason  and 
experience  merely.  I  can  readily  conceive,  and  shall  present- 
ly show,  how  a  simple  state  may  draw  after  it  a  state  of  igno- 
rance, but  this  is  voluntarily  done,  and  is  wholly  adventitious  to 
a  sinful  state. 

Experience  daily  shows  us,  that  a  local  disease  in  the  body, 
•bv  the  force  of  corporeal  sympathies  and  connexions,  may  cause 
a  morbid  diathesis  through  the  system ;  thus,  a  slight  puncture 
in  the  foot  may  bring  on  all  the  horrible  train  of  tetanic  symp- 
toms. But  who  can  tell  me,  by  the  light  of  reason  and  philo- 
sophy, or  by  any  other  light,  in  what  incorporeal  essence  the  va- 
rious faculties  of  the  soul  inhere,  so  connected  by  a  common 
sensorium,  that  when  one  becomes  diseased,  all  the  rest  are  ne- 


329 

cessarily  and  essentially  impaired !  If  we  have  such  a  philoso- 
pher amongst  us,  I  could  wish  he  would  come  out  and  publish 
his  knowledge  for  the  benefit  of  mankind. 

Sin  neither  originated  in  a  mistake,  nor  does  it  proceed  on 
that  footing.  The  most  sinful  being  in  the  universe,  is,  perhaps, 
inferior  in  knowledge  to  no  creature,  and,  in  fact,  the  sin  of  our 
first  parents  is  rather  represented  as  an  increase,  than  a  diminu- 
tion of  knowledge.*  Sin  against  God  does  by  no  means  con- 
sist in  hating  a  mistaken  notion  of  God,  but  in  hating  the  true 
God  ;  and  experience  will  not  show  that  the  most  wicked  men 
have  generally  been  the  most  ignorant. 

The  great  point  I  would  lay  down,  and  endeavor  to  establish  > 
is,  that  neither  reason  nor  experience  has  given  us  any  know- 
ledge of  the  nature  and  properties  of  the  soul,  whereby  we  can 
certainly  conclude,  that  the  immediate  and  necessary  effect  of 
sin  on  the  soul  is  to  diminish  the  stock  of  knowledge  already 
acquired,  or  to  enfeeble  the  power  of  acquiring  any  further 
knowledge,  such  as  the  soul  may  wish  and  seek  to  acquire. 

As  to  reason  alone,  aided  by  all  its  most  diligent  researches 
into  the  nature  and  properties  of  the  soul,  it  wholly  fails  in  this 
inquiry,  and  cannot  afford  one  ray  of  evidence  that  the  intellect 
of  a  wicked  man  or  angel,  is  less  acute  or  powerful  in  discover- 
ing facts,  or  in  making  comparisons  or  deductions,  than  that  of 
a  holy  man  or  angel.  A  similar  result  is  obtained  by  resorting 
to  all  that  experience  can  afford  on  this  subject.  Indeed,  ex- 
perience is  as  lame  as  reason ;  the  one  being  ignorant  of  what 
the  soul  is,  as  to  its  substance  and  structure,  if  those  terms  ate 
appHcable  to  a  purely  spiritual  being  ;  and  the  other  being  un- 
furnished with  data  from  whence  a  fair  comparison  can  be  made. 

To  institute  a  comparison  between  the  knowledge  and  acqui- 
sition of  holy  and  sinful  angels,  would  be  an  attempt  to  judge  ol 
things  beyond  our  spliere  of  knowledge.  Had  there  been  two 
human  pairs  created  instead  of  one — had  one  of  them  remained 
holy,  and  produced  a  race  of  holy  and  perfect  people,,  and  could 
we  have  had  access  to  both  races,  we  might  then  have  made 
some   comparisons  useful   to  this  inquiry.     But  among  the  de- 

*  And  the  Lord  God  eaid,  behold  !  the  man  is  become  as  one  of  us,  to 
know  good  and  evil    Gen.  iii.  22. 

28* 


330 

scendants  of  one  fallen  race,  we  discover  no  means  of  making 
such  a  comparison  just  or  certain.  Pious  or  holy  men  discover 
no  more  strength  of  intellect  than  wicked  men.  It  will  be  rea- 
dily granted  that  they  have  more  wisdom  ;  but  wisdom  embraces 
more  than  mere  intellect,  and  cannot  be  separated  from  moral 
virtue  or  holiness. 

The  understanding  may  be  called  the  eye  of  the  soul,  as  it  is 
the  perceiving  faculty.  Now,  it  is  evident,  that  sin  injures 
many  of  the  corporeal  faculties.  Indeed,  the  whole  province  of 
the  passions  and  appetites,  to  say  the  least,  as  truly  belong  to 
the  body  as  to  the  mind.  But  they  are  deeply  injured  by  si». 
In  fine,  those  faculties  of  the  body,  which  are  more  immediate- 
ly connected  with,  and  adapted  to,  the  will  or  moral  powers  of 
the  soul,  are  all  injured  by  sin,  are  rendered  exorbitant,  corrupt, 
and  perverse.  But  is  a  man's  eyesight  or  hearing  injured  ? 
Does  not  a  wicked  man  see  with  the  bodily  eye  as  sharply  as  a 
good  man  ?  Does  he  not  hear  as  well  ?  Is  he  not  as  good  a 
judge  of  music  or  painting  as  a  good  man  ?  Is  it  probable  that 
Enoch  or  Elijah,  who  attained  to  immortality,  without  tasting 
death,  or  that  Jeremiah  or  St.  John,  who  were  sanctified  from 
the  womb,  had  better  eyesight  or  hearing,  or,  in  short,  had 
more  strength  and  acuteness  of  intellect,  than  Socrates  or  Aris- 
totle ? 

What  man's  intellectual  powers  might  have  been  had  he 
never  fallen ;  how  he  would  have  progressed  in  knowledge 
and  intellectual  capacity,  furnishes,  I  am  aware,  a  fine  field  for 
the  play  of  the  imagination,  and  for  the  looser  powers  of  decla- 
mation, and  I  have  often  heard  it  dwelt  upon  with  beautiful 
flowers  and  fine  flourishes.  And  all  these  things  might  have 
been  true,  from  circumstances  wholly  adventitious  to  the  pre- 
sent argument.  *'  Had  man  not  fallen,"  says  the  devout  Fla- 
vel,  "  all  truths  would  have  been  obvious  to  his  view,  in  their 
comely  order  and  ravishing  beauty."  And  are  they  not  new, 
with  an  order  as  comely,  and  a  beauty  as  ravishing,  to  every 
one,  who  jdoes  not  voluntaiiiy  shut  his  eyes  upon  them?  To 
shut  the  eye,  Reader,  is  a  very  difljerent  afl'air  from  a  want  of 
eyesight ;  so,  voluntary  ignorance  is  no  certain  proof  of  weak- 
ness of  intellect,  but  rather  of  moral  depravity. 


331 

But  these  metaphysicians  have  an  easy  method  of  confuting 
the  foregoing  remarks.  They  say,  wicked  men  have  know- 
ledge and  understanding  in  "  naturals,''^  as  they  are  pleased  to 
phrase  it,  but  not  in  spirituals.  And  the  ground  they  take,  here, 
unites  two  qualities  seemingly  of  an  opposite  nature  :  extreme 
absurdity,  and  great  adaptedness  to  the  prejudices  of  weak 
minds ;  and  these  qualities  are  not  unfrequently  observed  to 
meet  in  the  same  opinions.* 

I  should  reserve  the  consideration  of  this  opinion  till  we  come 
to  examine  the  light  of  scripture  on  this  subject,  but  that  it 
seems   necessarily     connected     with    some    observations    which 

*  Dr.  M'Leod,  irt  a  volume  of  Sermons  just  published,  (Serm.  p.  4.  122.) 
remarks,  "  The  human  mind  is  capable  of  perceiving  the  force  of  a  syllogism, 
or  the  truth  of  a  mathematical  proposition  ;  but  is  devoid  of  spiritual  discri- 
mination." To  prove  this,  he  quotes  the  following  scripture :  "  For  what 
man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him? 
even  so,  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  spirit  of  God." 

The  text  he  quotes,  no  doubt,  has  an  important  meaning,  and  is  true — but 
nothing  to  his  purpose.  The  Doctor's  notion  of  spiritual  illumination,  spirit- 
ual understanding,  spiritual  knowledge,  and  twenty  other  spirituals,  may  be 
said  to  form  the  prominent  trait  in  the  scheme  of  godliness  laid  down  in  these 
sermons.  It  is  set  up  as]a  main  pillar,  and,  I  fear,  the  parts  of  the  structure 
that  rest  upon  it  are  but  ill  supported.  By  classing  it  with  a  syllogism  and  a 
mathematical  proposition,  I  presume  the  Doctor  will  not  complain  that  in- 
justice is  done  him,  by  saying  that  he  alludes  wholly  to  the  intellect  or  under- 
standing. Now,  admitting  that  spiritual  illumination  relates  merely  to  the 
intellect,  and  has  concern  with  truth  and  matters  of  fact,  I  would 
earnestly  intreat  him  to  inform  the  public  of  one  truth,  or  matter  of  fact,  con- 
tained in  all  religion,  which  the  "  human  mind,"  as  such,  without  any  refer- 
ence to  moral  character,  cannot  understand,  cajteris  paribus,  as  well  as  it  can 
a  syllogism  or  mathematical  proposition.  But,  says  the  objector,  "  these  are 
speculative  truths."  What  then  ?  The  most  perfect  knowledge  cannot  go 
beyond  a  rational  and  full  conviction  of  a  truth.  People  lose  themselves  in 
the  fogs  of  mysticism,  and  they  should  read  the  story  of  Poole's  fiery  dragon. 
"  But  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man  but  the  spirit  of  God,"  says  the 
Doctor.  Surely  not,  I  reply,  till  such  time  as  God  makes  them  known  ; 
which  he  has  most  abundantly  done.  The  will  of  God,  I  suppose,  is  one  of  tho 
tilings,  nay,  comprehends  many  of  the  things,  of  God.  But  who  were  those 
that  knew  their  master's  will  and  did  it  not,  who  were  to  be  beaten  with 
many  stripes? — Who  was  it,  that  when  they  knew  God,  glorified  him  not  as 
God  ?  Spiritual  illumination,  understanding,  knowledge,  discernment,  &c. 
reader,  has  some  concern  with  the  beauty  of  truth  ;  but  to  see  beauty  is  to 

l-OYE. 


332 

must  be  subjoined  to  this  head.      To  this  opinion   of  iheirs   I 
reply, 

1.  What  they  or  others  can  mean  by  knowledge  of  '"''spirit- 
uaW^  or  of  spiritual  things,  has  no  conexion  with  a  man's  in- 
tellectual capacity,  strength  of  understanding,  or,  in  short,  know- 
ledge^ according  to  the  true  import  of  that  word  ;  and,  of  course, 
forms  no  part  of  the  inquiry,  whether  the  understanding  is  as 
much  depraved  as  the  will.  They  admit  the  will  is  totally  de- 
praved, i.  e.  wholly  sinful.  Now,  if  the  understanding  is,  in  its 
kind,  as  much  depraved  as  the  will,  then  it  must  be  totally  dark. 
All  knowledge  must  be  extinguished,  for  ever  ;  as  well  as  all 
power,  ever  more,  to  acquire  knowledge.  I  say  again,  all 
knowledge,  absolutely,  must  be  put  out,  like  a  burning  coal 
dropped  into  a  river,  from  which,  in  an  instant,  every  spark  of 
light  and  heat  is  excluded.  The  entire  intellect  must  be  de- 
stroyed. For  they  must  be  made  to  see  that  their  idle  distinc- 
tion, between  natural  and  spiritual  knowledge,  will  not  be  able 
to  save  them  in  this  extremity.  For  they  admit  the  will  to  be 
entirely  depraved,  and  this  depravity  extends  as  much  into  what 
they  call  naturals  as  spirituals.  The  wickedness  of  the  human 
will  is  not  limited  to  spiritual  things.  It  is  depraved  in  all  its 
volitions — in  all  its  exercises.  "The  imagination  of  man's 
heart  is  only  evil,  and  that  continually."  "  There  is  none  that 
doeth  good,  no,  not  one.  They  are  together  become  unprofit- 
able ;  their  throat  is  an  open  sepulchre,  their  feet  ere  swift  to 
shed  blood  ;  destruction  and  misery  are  in  their  way ;  the  way 
of  peace  have  they  not  known  ;  there  is  no  fear  of  God  before 
their  eyes." 

Such  is  the  sinner's  depravity  of  heart  or  will,  and  it  is  indeed 
total,  because  excluded  from  no  volition,  act,  or  intention.  Now, 
if  his  understanding,  according  to  its  kind  and  nature,  is  as  to- 
tally depraved  as  the  will,  it  must  certainly  extend  to  every 
perception— there  can  nothing  be  left  of  it :  it  must  be  extinct. 
For  as  I  have  shown,  depravity  of  understanding  can  consist  in 
nothing  but  ignorance  and  weakness  ;  and,  while  any  thing  is 
left,  it  cannot  be  totally  depraved.  The  depravity  of  the  will 
is  perversion ;   but  that  of  the   understanding,   from  its  nature 


333 

and  kind,  must  be  privation  ;  and  if  both  are  total,  the  conse- 
quence I  state  must  follow. 

2.  As  we  discover  nothing  by  reason  or  experience  which 
proves  that  depravity  of  will  is  necessarily  connected  with  de- 
pravity of  understanding,  as  all  the  advantage  gained  here  is 
from  the  sole  argument,  termed  peticio  principii,  so,  a  much 
more  important  question  is  begged  in  setting  up  the  distinction 
between  natural  and  spiritual  things,  or  natural  and  spiritual 
knowledge.  There  is,  perhaps,  not  a  more  fruitful  source  of 
error  than  this  distinction,  as  set  up  and  applied,  by  them,  to 
religious  doctrine. 

There  is,  indeed,  such  a  thing  as  spiritual  knowledge  or  un- 
derstanding, which,  I  shall  hereafter  show,  relates  principally,  if 
not  wholly,  to  the  heart,  or  the  moral  powers  of  the  soul  ; 
which  goes  into  the  nature  of  true  holiness,  and  of  which  wick- 
ed men  are  incapable.  But  we  have  no  concern  with  that 
kind  of  knowledge  in  an  inquiry  whether  the  understanding  is 
depraved. 

God's  kingdom  is  made  up  of  spiritual  beings  ;  that  is,  of 
pure  spirits,  such  as  God  himself,  and  angels  ;  of  beings  which 
are  mixed  and  composed  of  matter  and  spirit ;  and  such  are 
mankind — of  animals,  vegetables,  and  inorganic  matter.  These 
various  modes  of  being  together  with  their  characters,  spheres 
of  action,  properties,  affections,  and  offices,  are  the  proper  sub- 
jects of  knowledge.  Now,  nothing  can  be  more  evident  than 
that  a  wicked  creature,  whose  will  is  totally  depraved,  is  as 
truly  susceptible  of  the  knowledge  of  these  various  orders  of 
being,  of  their  characters  and  attributes,  as  a  holy  creature.  I 
think  nothing  but  incorrigible  ignorance,  or  incurable  prejudice, 
will  undertake  to  deny  this.  A  wicked,  depraved  creature  can, 
beyond  all  question,  form  as  correct  a  notion  of  any  one  being 
that  exists,  as  a  holy  creature  can,  provided  he  be  furnished  with 
the  means  of  information. 

There  are  immaterial  beings,  and  such  are  the  supreme  be- 
ing himself,  as  well  as  the  various  orders  of  angels :  we  our- 
selves have  an  immaterial,  or  incorporeal  part,  called  the  soul, 
which  part  is  neither  visible,  audible,  nor  tangible,  to  the  bodily 
organs,   and  is  immortal.     But  these  truths  are  as  justly   appre- 


334 

hended  by  bad  men,  as  good.  God  is  infinite,  eternal,  omnipre- 
sent, omnipotent,  and  immutable.  He  is  the  sole  creator  and 
governor  of  all  creatures  ;  rational  creatures  are  accountable  to 
him  for  their  conduct,  as  to  their  supreme  moral  ruler  and 
universal  father.  They  are  all  governed  by  one  law — the  ge- 
neral and  grand  obligation  of  which  is  supreme  love  to  God, 
and  perfect  obedience  to  all  his  requirements.  But  there  is 
nothing  in  all  this  which  wicked  men  and  devils  may  not,  and 
do  not,  as  truly  understand,  as  good  men  and  holy  angels. 

The  nature  and  obligations  of  the  law  of  God  are  as  truly  un- 
derstood by  wicked  men  as  good  men.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  guilt  of  sin,  the  nature  of  holiness,  the  notion  and  necessity 
of  pardon,  which  is  unintelligible  to  the  depraved  heart ;  and, 
in  a  word,  the  government  God  exercises  over  his  creatures, 
in  all  its  parts,  is  as  easily  and  truly  understood  as  the  govern- 
ment of  an  earthly,  monarch,  and  as  much  more  so  as  the  di- 
vine laws  are  more  clear  and  simple,  more  evidently  just  and 
excellent,  than  human  laws,  with  this  only  difference,  that  the 
good  man  loves,  and  the  wicked  man  hates  them. 

Furthermore,  the  scheme  of  salvation,  by  Christ,  is  no  less 
plainly  set  forth,  and  clearly  understood,  by  sinful  creatures, 
than  the  other  parts  of  the  divine  dispensations.  The  sinner  as 
truly  and  justly  feels  himself  condemned  by  the  divine,  as  by 
human  laws.  The  nature  and  force  of  conviction  are  often  equal- 
ly plain,  and  far  stronger  in  the  latter,  than  in  the  former  case  ; 
and  the  whole  character  and  work  of  Christ,  his  power  and  wil- 
lingness to  save  the  sinner ;  the  duties  he  enjoins  as  essential  to 
discipleship,  and  incitements  he  offers  as  powerful  motives  of  ac- 
tion, are  all  perfectly  clear  to  every  apprehension,  as  I  trust  I 
shall  soon  show,  under  its  proper  head.  But  at  present  I  say, 
that,  as  to  every  purpose  of  intellect,  knowledge,  reason,  under- 
standing, these  subjects  are  as  plain  as  any  other  subjects,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  intelligence  afforded  concerning  them,  and  that  i» 
abundant ;  plain  as  the  arts  and  sciences,  as  history,  geography,, 
laws,  or  manners. 

There  are  certainly  mysterious  points  in  the  great  doctrines 
of  revelation,  as  there  are,  at  least,  as  many  in  natural  religion, 
and   even   in  nature  itself.     But   these   are   not  mysterious  to- 


335 

wicked  men,  as  such,  speculatively  considered.  They  are 
equally  so  to  good  men,  saving  what  results  from  greater  atten- 
tion ;  and  it  is  beyond  all  doubt,  a  fact,  that  many  a  wicked, 
unregenerate  man,  has  a  far  more  correct  knowledge  of  the 
great  doctrines  of  revelation,  than  some  good  and  very  pious 
Christians  have.  As  far  as  the  bare  intellect  is  concerned, 
they  are  far  sounder  in  the  faith,  in  the  range  of  knowledge 
common  to  both ;  besides  that,  they  have  ten,  perhaps  a  hun- 
dred times  the  range,  or  extent  of  knowledge,  in  the  whole 
plan  of  truth.  And  the  spiritual  discernment  of  a  Christian  is 
his  perception  of  the  loveliness  of  truth,  and  the  God  of  truth, 
in  which    he    differs    from  the    sinner. 

Seldom  did  the  grand  adversary  of  God  and  man  ever  lay 
a  deeper  snare  for  the  feet  of  the  unwary,  than  is  perceivable 
in  this  most  absurd  and  insidious  error.  The  term  spiritual, 
misunderstood,  and  misapplied,  is  the  bait  or  lure  which  leads 
thousands  of  simple  souls  after  an  tg7iis  fatuus  into  total  dark- 
ness. The  supporters  of  this  distinction  must  take  one  of  the 
two  following  grounds  :  either, 

A  Christian  must  needs  have  two  intellects,  and  two  kinds  of 
knowledge,  a  natural  and  a  spiritual.  The  natural,  or  unrenew- 
ed man,  they  say,  has  no  spiritual  knowledge  ;  of  course,  his 
spiritual  intellect  is  totally  dark  ;  and  this  lays  the  foundation  of 
an  inability  to  come  to  Christ,  independent  of  his  will.     Or, 

2.  The  soul  having  but  one  intellect  or  understanding,  must, 
nevertheless,  be  capable  of  two  kinds  of  knowledge,  viz.  natu- 
ral and  spiritual,  and  the  latter  must  be  wholly  destroyed  by 
sin,  or  else  it  cannot  be  equally  depraved  with  the  will.  If  the 
understanding  retains  the  least  degree  of  spiritual  knowledge, 
it  cannot  be  totally  depraved,  and  their  scheme  is  overthrown. 

But,  reader,  what  matchless  and  incredible  absurdity  meets 
the  eye,  and  shocks  the  common  sense,  of  every  mind  in  this 
acherae.  And  this  rises  obviously  and  wholly  from  the  loose- 
ness of  their  metaphysical  reasoning. 

Spiritual  knowledge,  or  understanding,  can  man  but  one  of 
two  things.     Either, 

1.  The  knowledge,  or  understanding  which  any  rational 
mind  may  haye  about  spiritual   beings.     For  example,  whoever 


336 

knows  there  is  a  God,  that  his  perfections  are  infinite,  eternal, 
and  immutable  ;  that  there  is  a  heaven  and  a  hell — a  future 
state  ;  that  the  soul  is  immortal  ;  that  there  are  good  and  bad 
angels  ;  that  God  governs  creatures  by  a  moral  law,  &;c.  has 
knowledge,  or  miderstanding,  of  spiritual  things,  and,  of  course, 
has  spiritual  knowledge.     Or, 

2.  Which  is  the  common  scripture  use  of  the  phrase,  a  heart 
and  disposition  attached  to  spiritual  things  ;  in  a  word,  love  to 
spiritual  objects,  or  holy  love.  But  the  want  of  this  is  the  very 
essence  of  moral  depravity — is  sin  in  itself,  and  bears  no  re- 
lation to  depravity  of  understanding,  or  relevancy  to  this  argu- 
ment. 

As  far  as  mere  intellect  is  concerned,  the  understanding  is 
certainly  less  depraved  than  the  will,  and  it  will  be  no  easy 
matter  to  prove  that  it  is  depraved  at  all,  or,  in  any  degree,  as 
an  immediate  and  necessary  consequence,  or  concomitant,  of 
depravity  of  will.  And  as  to  two  kinds  of  knowledge,  as  re- 
lates to  the  intellect  alone,  nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than 
the  supposition.  There  is  nothing  in  sin  which  impairs  the  sin- 
ner's knowledge  of  spiritual  beings,  of  his  own  duty  and  obli- 
gations, or  of  his  guilt  and  danger.  And  this,  I  trust,  will  ap- 
pear to  be  the  light  of  the  sacred  scriptures  on  this  subject. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  proper  here  to  observe, 

3,  Sin  may  be,  and  is,  remotely  and  consequentially,  the 
cause  of  much  ignorance,  not  only  of  God]  and  divine  things, 
but  of  all  branches  of  human  knowledge.  But  this,  as  I  said 
above,  is  adventitious  to  the  nature  of  sin,  and  its  immediate 
and  genuine  effect  on  the  mind.  The  degeneracy  of  the  hu- 
man race  into  a  state  of  extreme  ignorance,  in  consequence  of 
sin,  is  no  certain  proof  that  intelligent  creatures,  placed  in  other 
circumstances,  would  become  ignorant,  or  would  not,  in  fact, 
increase  in  knowledge.  It  is  certain  that  many  wicked  men 
have  made  great  progress  in  knowledge,  not  only  in  arts  and 
sciences,  but  in  the  doctrines  of  religion.  Yet  it  would  be  rea- 
sonable to  suppose,  that  depraved  and  sinful  beings  would  take 
little  satisfaction  in  meditating  in  religious  ^truth,  which  con- 
demned their  conduct,  or  endeavouring  to  improve  their  know- 
ledge of  God,  whom  they  hated.     It  might  be  presumed  that 


337 

they  would  "  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge."  And 
they  accordingly  say  in  their  hearts,  "  Depart  from  us,  O  Lord, 
for  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways." 

It  will  be  readily  granted  that  the  extreme  ignorance  of  sa- 
vage nations  has  been  caused  by  sin  ;  or,  perhaps,  more  properly 
speaking,  that  their  moral  depravity  has  been  the  cause  of  their 
not  rising  from  a  savage  into  a  civilized  state.  But  it  would  be 
easy  to  show,  by  the  most  copious  and  minute  details  of  argu- 
ment, that  the  ignorance  which  sin  occasions  is  a  voluntary  ig- 
norance ;  that  sin  depraves  the  understanding,  by  shutting  the  eye 
of  the  soul,  that  is,  withdrawing  its  attention  from  the  most 
important  objects,  thence  inducing  a  voluntary  or  wilful  blind- 
ness, and  not  by  producing  a  physical  effect  on  the  understanding, 
causing  an  unavoidable,  a  necessary  ignorance,  which,  whether 
the  sinner  will  or  not,  will  prevent  him  from  coming  to  the  saving 
knowledge  of  truth. 

4.  It  will  be  readily  perceived  that  the  loss  of  external  and 
adventitious  advantages  to  gain  knowledge,  whether  greater  or 
less,  occasioned  by  the  fall  of  man,  cannot  be  taken  into  the 
number  of  the  arguments  in  support  of  the  depravity  of  the  un- 
derstanding. The  certainty  that  a  ship  cannot  sail  where  there 
is  no  water,  is  no  certain  proof  that  there  is  any  deficiency  or 
derangement  of  its  constituent  parts.  We  might  presume,  from 
the  light  of  reason,  and  much  more  from  the  light  of  revelation, 
that  if  man  had  never  fallen,  his  intercourse  with  his  Maker 
would  have  been  attended  with  the  greatest  improvements  in 
knowledge  and  wisdom.  Sin,  which  alienated  his  heart  from 
God,  and  withdrew  his  attention  from  the  glorious  fountain  of 
knowledge  and  excellence,  occasioned  the  loss  of  those  di- 
vine communications  which  would  have  enriched  him  in 
every  mental  and  moral  quality  which  adorn  and  dignify  a  ra- 
tional creature. 

But  it  must  be  remembered,  that  a  similar  withdraw  of  those 
divine  communications  from  man,  had  he  remained  uncorrupt- 
ed  by  sin,  would  have  lessened,  to  an  amazing  degree,  the  re- 
sources of  his  improvement ;  and  probably  even  the  strength 
and  acuteness  of  his  intellect.  But  when  we  undertake  to  ex- 
amine the  goodness  of  an  organ,  of  an  eye,  for  instance,  we  do 
29 


338 

not  put  it  in  a  dungeon — we  do  not  withdraw  from  it  the  ob- 
jects of  vision — we  do  not  induce  the  person  to  whom  it  be- 
longs to  shut  it  from  the  light.  How  absurd  would  it  be  for  a  man 
to  shut  up  his  eyes,  and  then  say,  "  alas  !  what  shall  I  do  ?  my 
eyesight  is  totally  depraved — I  cannot  see  !"  And  this  is  substan- 
tially the  case  with  a  sinner. 

5.  It  is  not  to  be  understood,  from  the  foregoing  observations, 
that  I  affirm  that  sin  may  not  produce  an  immediate,  and  even  a 
physical  effect  on  the  human  intellect,  impairing  its  power,  acute- 
ness,  and  general  usefulness.  All  that  I  contend  for  is,  that  this 
is  a  point  which  we  cannot  determine  from  any  knowledge  we 
derive  from  reason  and  experience  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
soul.  We  know  not  whether  sin  might  not  have  impaired  eve- 
ry intellectual  function  or  operation.  AVe  cannot  assuredly  deny 
that  sin  has  not  only  impaired  the  powers  of  the  soul,  that  we 
know,  and  are  acquainted  with,  but  has,  moreover,  obstructed  and 
concealed  others  which,  in  the  incipient  stages  of  being,  had  not 
time  to  be  elicited,  matured,  and  brought  into  action. 

The  ground  I  take  is,  that  reason,  common  observation,  and 
all  experience,  demonstrate  that  men's  understandings  are  less 
affected  by  sin  than  their  wills ;  that  we  have  no  certain  evi- 
dence that  the  intellect,  considered  as  a  faculty  of  the  soul,  is, 
in  any  manner,  immediately,  and  necessarily,  impaired  by  sin ; 
but  especially,  whether  more  or  less,  whether  a  great  deal,  or 
not  at  all  affected,  it  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  sound, 
strong,  and  acute,  in  relation  to  one  object  as  another;  that,  if 
it  is  less  successful  and  correct  in  religious,  than  in  worldly  mat- 
ters, it  is  solely  owing  to  less  means  of  information,  or  less  at- 
tention to  the  means  afforded ;  that  the  distinction  of  spiritual, 
from  other  knowledge,  is  wholly  without  foundation. 

Knowledge  has  to  do  with  truth  and  facts,  and  is  derived  from 
various  sources  ;  but  as  to  its  conception  and  mode,  in  the  hu- 
man mind,  it  is  07ie.  It  cannot  rise  higher  than  to  a  rational 
and  full  conviction.  Whether  a  truth  is  made  known  to  me 
by  God  himself  by  an  angel,  or  by  a  man  ;  whether  I  gain  it 
by  istuition,  deduction,  sensation,  or  reflection,  when  I  once,  in 
fact,  have  it,  it  stands,  in  my  mind,  together  with  all  other 
truth,  on  the  same  ground  of  intellection. 


339 

This  notion  of  the  depravity  of  the  understanding,  whereby 
the  whole  body  of  religious  truths  and  doctrines  is  covered 
with  an  inscrutable  veil  of  mystery,  is  one  of  the  boldest  and 
most  mischievous  of  Satan's  devices.  Under  the  shameful  pre- 
tence of  paying  a  high  compliment  to  the  sacredness  of  truth, 
they  cover  it  from  human  eyes  with  a  cloud,  not  of  mystery, 
but  of  mist,  which,  following  their  definitions,  no  mortal  can 
understand ;  and  under  a  pretence  of  setting  human  nature 
low,  they  release  the  conscience  from  remorse,  and  a  moral 
agent  froin  his  duty. 

That  the  spiritual  discernment,  or  understanding  of  truth,  re- 
lates to  its  moral  excellence  and  beauty,  and  belongs  to  the 
will  and  affections  of  the  soul,  is  evidently  agreeable  to  the 
whole  tenor  of  the  scriptures.  This  I  shall  endeavour  to  show, 
in  considering  what  light  the  scriptures  throw  on  the  doctrine 
of  the  depravity  of  the  understanding.  But  this  must  be  re- 
served to  the  next  series. 

The  intelligent  and  candid  reader  will  perceive  a  wide  dif- 
ference between  him  who  shuts  his  [eyes  to  avoid  seeing,  and 
him  who  was  born  blind.  The  former  of  these  cases  answers 
to  the  conduct  of  men ;  hence,  saith  the  word  of  God,  "  This  is 
the  condemnation  that  light  has  come  into  the  world,  and  men 
have  loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  are 
evil." 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  VI. 

DocTER  M'Leod's  Sermons. 

A.  voiumn  of  sermons,  entitled  "  The  Life  and  Power  of  God- 
liness," lately  published,  is  before  the  public.  The  imposing 
title  of  this  work,  and  the  acknowledged  talents  of  its  author 
will  procure   for  it  a  share  of  the  public  attention ;  and,  if  jus- 


340 

tice  has  been  done  to  a  subject  of  such  importance,  few  books 
can  be  deserving  of  a  larger  share.  If  the  writer  has  truly  in- 
formed the  public  what  godliness  is,  and  wherein  its  life  and 
power  consist,  he  has  redeemed  his  pledge,  laid  down  with  an 
immeasurable  responsibility,  and,  to  say  nothing  of  the  reward 
of  human  approbation — to  overlook  the  pleasing  conscious- 
ness, the  noble  gratification  of  having  edified  the  church  of 
Christ,  and  presented  before  the  wicked  many  of  the  best  mo- 
tives to  repentance,  a  far  richer  reward  awaits  his  labours — the 
high  and  eternal  approbation  of  the  Supreme  Judge  of  human 
actions. 

Though  the  task  with  which  he  charged  himself  can  be  but 
poorly  performed  by  one  who  does  not  live  the  life  and  feel  the 
power  of  godliness,  yet  I  am  far  from  making  his  production  a 
criterion  to  judge  of  his  personal  piety,  a  topic  with  which  nei- 
ther the  critic,  the  theologian,  nor  the  reviewer,  has  any  concern ; 
and  concerning  which,  general  reputation,  and  the  more  amiable 
dictates  of  character,  have  secured  to  him  a  favourable  deci- 
sion. I  cannot,  however,  avoid  the  persuasion,  that  the  choice  of 
his  subject  was  not  peculiarly  fortunate,  nor  well  adapted  to  his 
genius  and  turn  of  mind.  But  of  this  the  reader  will  judge  for 
himself.  Some  men  are  sons  of  thunder,  some  of  consolation  ; 
and  when  a  true  son  of  thunder  gets  on  themes  of  consolation, 
we  may  apply  to  him  the  language  of  Garrick,  "  When  Johnson 
writes  tragedy,  declamation  roars,  and  passion  sleeps." 

These  sermons  are  by  no  means  destitute  of  brilliancy  of  ex- 
pression, and  force  of  thought.  Justice  cannot  deny  that  they 
evince  marks  of  genius  of  no  ordinary  grade  ;  but  I  am  sorry  to 
be  compelled  to  add,  that  here  her  claims  of  commendation 
generally  end. 

Another  day  must  determine  whether  it  is  my  infelicity,  or 
that  of  this  writer,  that  we  differ  in  many  of  the  most  material 
positions  which  he  takes.  If  I  can  discover  in  this  work  any 
thing  like  a  description  of  divine  life,  its  pulsations  are  feeble, 
and  it  still  wears  the  mortal  hue.  Indeed,  a  glance  through 
the  volume  rather  presents  darkness,  impotence,  and  confusion, 
than  **  life  and  power"  and  reminds  me  of  that  strong  expression 
in  the  liturgy,  "  In  the  midst  of  life,  we  are  in  death." 

The  Doctor,  in  his  introductory  sermon,  lays  before  the  reader 


341 

his  view  of  what   he  styles  "  the  peculiar  excellencies    of 
THE  GOSPEL.*'     These  he  comprises  in   four  articles,  viz. 

1.  "  The  Christian  religion  alone  proposes  to  man  friendship 
and  communion  with  God,  in  a  mediator  ;  and  effects  reconcilia- 
tion, by  providing  a  Mediator  pe rfectly  qualified  for  the  purpose." 

2.  '*  Christianity  is  the  only  religion  which  provides  perfect 
satisfaction  to  divine  justice  for  all  the  sins  of  them  who  are 
reconciled  to  God." 

3.  "  Evangelical  religion  alone  secures  to  man  a  change  of 
mind,  by  supernatural  power,  from  sinfulness  to  holiness." 

4.  "  Evangelical  religion  secures  [for  believers  a  title  to  a 
place  in  heaven,  on  account  of  the  merits  of  the  Redeemer." 

I  earnestly  intreat  the  reader  to  resort  to  this  book,  and  read 
the  Doctor's  own  illustration  of  these  propositions ;  and  for 
the  same  reason  I  could  wish  this  book  might  be  generally  read. 
For  if  there  be  proportion,  beauty,  force,  and  grandeur,  in  truth 
and  godliness — if  there  be  distortion,  turpitude,  obscurity,  and 
confusion  in  error,  the  eye  that  is  not  covered  with  scales  of 
blindness,  >viU  not  read  the  book  but  with  progressing  convic- 
tion, and  it  will  serve  as  a  caustic  to  bring  a  callous  ^sore  to  due 
sensibility. 

My  comment  on  the  four  propositions  will  be  short ;  but  as 
they  are  set  up  as  the  four  cardinal  points  of  gospel  excellence, 
I  cannot  pass  by  them  in  silence. 

His  first  proposition  is  certainly  true,  upon  my  principles,  and 
certainly  false  upon  his  ;  and  is  a  hook  of  error  baited  with  truth. 

His  second  proposition  contradicts  the  first ;  while  it  ex- 
presses a  truth,  implies  an  error ;  and  as  Christ's  satisfaction  to 
justice  is  certainly  the  ground  upon  which  the  gospel  ^^ propo- 
ses to  man  friendship  and  communion  with  God"  these  two 
propositions  present  the  figure  of  a  pyramid  set  upon  its  apex 
with  its  base  in  the  air  ;  and  had  it  been  composed  of  stone  in- 
stead of  words,  the  author's  head  would  have  been  iu  danger. 
My  meaning  is,  that  he  grounds  an  offer  of  hfe  and  immortality 
to  all  men  on  a  propitiation  made  for  a  part. 

His  third  proposition  is  true ;  but  he  covers  it  with  darkness 
in  his  illustration  of  it.  He  talks  much  about  its  excellent  mo- 
rality ;  but  what  then  ?  His  hearers  are  taught  to  believe  that 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  moral  virtue.  He  says  the  gospel  sets 
29» 


342 

before  men  the  whole  system  of  religious  truth,  but  then  theiT 
understandings  are  totally  depraved,  and  they  are  none  the  bet- 
ter without  supernatural  illumination.  He  says,  with  great 
emphasis,  that  the  gospel  requires  holiness.  "  Evangelical  re- 
ligioTij^^  says  he,  "  describes  holiness  in  the  clearest  terms ^  re- 
quires it  by  the  purest  precepts,  illustrates  it  by  the  best  exam- 
ples, and  urges  it  by  the  tenderest  motives.''''     A  climax  ! 

But,  reader,  does  he  tell  you  what  that  holiness  is  to  which 
the  gospel  recovers  man  ?  No.  Does  he  tell  you  what  that 
change  of  mind  is  which  is  effected  by  supernatural  power  ?  No. 
Those  topics,  I  must  presume,  were  thought  too  mysterious  for 
explanation. 

His  fourth  proposition,  though,  in  a  sense,  true,  since  Chris- 
tians are  certainly  saved  by  grace,  yet,  as  it  here  stands,  in  the 
writer's  sense  of  it,  and  illustrated  by  his  own  remarks,  I  consi- 
der it  as  one  of  the  most  bold,  arrogant,  and  audacious  strokes 
of  Antinomian  pride  and  vanity.  And  I  must  again  beg  of  the 
reader  to  examine  the  proofs  he  brings  of  the  truth  of  this  pro- 
position. He  alleges  nothing  like  proof — nothing  in  the  shape 
of  demonstration — not  even  the  ghost  of  evidence — not  even 
the  abortion  of  an  argument ;  and  the  propositions  he  brings  in 
its  support  are  still  more  doubtful  than  his  premises.  1  shall 
close,  for  the  present,  by  applying  to  these  sermons  the  words 
of  Dr.  Fuller,  a  writer  recommended  by  the  triangular  divines 
of  this  city.     (See  Fuller's  life  of  Pierce,  p.  249.) 

*' If  a  man,  whatever  be  his  depravity,  be  necessarily  a  free  agent,  and 
accountable  for  all  his  dispositions  and  actions  ;  if  gospel  invitations  be  ad- 
dressed to  men,  not  as  elect,  nor  as  non-elect,  but  as  sinners  exposed  to  the 
righteous  displeasure  of  God  ;  if  Chrisf^s  obedience  and  death  rather  increase 
than  diminish  our  obligations  to  love  God,  and  one  another  ;  if  faith  in 
Christ  be  a  falling  in  with  God's  way  of  salvation,  and  unbelief  a  fixlling  ©ut 
with  it  ;  if  sanctification  be  a  progressive  work,  and  so  essential  a  brancli  of 
our  salvation  as  that  without  it  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord  ;  it  the  holy  spu-it 
instruct  us  in  nothing  by  his  illuminating  influences  but  what  was  already  re- 
vealed in  the  scriptures,  and  which  we  should  have  perceived  but  for  that  we 
loved  darkness  rather  than  light  ;  and  if  he  inchnes  us  to  nothing  but  what 
was  antecedently  right,  or  to  such  a  spirit  as  every  intelligent  creature  ought, 
at  all  times,  to  have  possessed," 

then  are  these  sermons    far,    very    far,  from    being    a  true   ex- 
hibition of  the  life  and  power   of  godliness,    or    of  gospel  truth. 

But  they  will  be  further  considered. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


I 


343 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIFTH  SERIES. 


This  series  will  close  the  firet  part  of  the  Triangle,  a  work 
which  has  roused  a  storm  of  indignation  and  fury,  whose  rage  ap- 
pears not  yet  to  be  wholly  spent.  I  have  been  quite  happy,  how- 
ever, to  perceive,  that  it  has  hitherto  been  harmless  in  its  pro- 
gress, as  it  has  unroofed  no  buildings  on  the  land,  nor  unmoored 
any  vessels  in  the  harbour,  though  it  has  been  attended  with 
great  noise,  with  most  obstreperous  clamours,  some  "  gnashing 
of  teeth,"  and  terrible  threats  of  vengeance. 

A  point  blank  shot  was  some  time  since  aimed  at  the  Triangle, 
or  rather  The  Investigator,  but  it  was,  perhaps,  lucky  for  him  that 
this  shot  was  discharged,  not  from  the  Great  Gun,  but  from  a 
very  little  Gun,  of  short  barrel,  and  wide  caliber;  and  it  appears, 
from  some  oversight  in  loading,  that  the  powder  was  so  inade- 
quate to  the  weight  of  the  charge,  that  the  whole  load  fell  on  the 
ground,  not  many  yards  from  the  muzzle,  where  it  still  lies,  and 
may  be  seen  by  those  whose  curiosity  may  prompt  inspection. 
The  wad  smoked  a  little,  affording  a  delightful  fumigation  for  tri- 
angular noses,  but  soon  went  out. 

The  general  object  of  the  Triangle  has  been  to  expose  the  spir- 
it of  intolerance  and  persecution,  become  so  conspicuous,  so  bold, 
and  daring,  in  this  city,  for  the  last  few  years,  and  so  insupporta- 
bly  oppressive  to  a  certain  class  of  people.  A  long  train  of  events 
speaks  with  a  voice  of  thunder  on  this  subject:  A  numerous  and 
powerful  phalanx  of  men  have  long  since  laid  off  the  mask — have 
boldly  avowed  the  purpose  of  restraining  the  opinions  of  the  im- 
mense population  of  this  city,  to  their  own  creed — or,  shall  I  say, 
to  their  own  narrow  and  contracted  views  of  the  great  doctrines  of 
religion. 

The  attempts  of  an  individual  to  breast  the  torrent  of  popular 
opinion  are  always  considered  by  the  weak  and  wavering  as 
hopeless  and  useless,  by  the  leaders  and  demagogues  of  the 
multitude,  as  audacious  and  wicked  ;  of  course,  they  are  seldom 
made  :  lor  some,  consulting  their  ease  and  popularity,  others  their 
convenience  and  interest ;  some  governed  by  darling  prejudices, 
and  others,  (not  a  few,)  wrapped  in  the  midnight  gloom  of 
ignorance,  it  is  found,  by  designing  men,  but  an  easy  task  to 
lead  the  multitude  at  their  will ;  and  the  history  of  the  church, 
in  all  ages,  and  in  all  its  sections,  affords  a  voluminous  comment  on 
this  subject.  But  if  this  comment  be  voluminous,  there  is  another 
not  less  so  :  the  readiness  with  which  the  great  body  of  Christians, 


344 

and  all  ambitious  men,  identify  religion  with  their  temporal 
interests,  is  the  true  source  of  that  overbearing  and  furious  spirit 
which  has  ever  harassed  the  church,  endeavouring  to  bear  down 
all  before  it.  It  is  not  the  solemn  scenes  of  eternity — the  glory 
of  the  Almighty  God — the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom 
— the  salvation  of  immortal  souls — the  terrors  of  the  coming 
judgment — the  pure  and  supreme  joys  of  an  eternal  heaven — nor 
the  endless  torments  of  hell,  which  form  any  part  of  the  motives 
of  their  conduct,  who  would  square  down  men'^s  consciences  to 
their  particular  views  of  truth.  No  !  no  T  far  other  motives  are 
at  bottom ;  it  is  the  base  ambition  of  mounting  on  the  empty 
blast  of  Fame — the  rage  after  a  poor  and  short-lived  influence 
over  men — the  desire  to  be  esteemed  leaders  and  rulers  over  a 
large  number  o^  wretched  beings,  who  are  born  for  the  awful 
destinies  of  eternity. 

Were  the  love  and  fear  of  God  the  predominating  principle  of 
their  hearts,  all  these  angry  feelings  would  melt  away ;  their 
weapons  would  fall  from  their  nerveless  hands,  and  they  would 
find  much  more  cause  to  quarrel  with  themselves,  than  with 
their  neighbours ;  and  their  resentment  at  those  who  differed  from 
them,  would  suddenly  change  into  apprehension  and  alarm  for 
iheir  own  future  prospects. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


THE  TRIANGLE. 


FIFTH  SERIES. 


No.  I. 


Depravity  of  Understanding  considered,  and  concluded  from 
the  Fourth  Series. 


Part  II. 

Video  mellora,  proboque  ;  deteriora  sequor. — Seneca. 

The  holy  scriptures,  in  relation  to  the  impediments  in  the 
sinner's  salvation,  are  far  from  placing  the  will  and  the  under- 
standing on  the  same  footing.  They  nowhere  represent  the  under- 
standing as  being  as  depraved  as  the  heart  or  will,  which  I  here 
use  as  synonymous  terms,  or  as  being  the  cause  of  the  sinner's 
destruction.  Directly  the  reverse  of  this  breathes  in  every  sen- 
timent, and  speaks  in  every  page  of  the  sacred  volume. 

While  the  depravity  of  the  heart  is  universally  set  up  as  the 
first,  the  last,  and  the  only  cause  of  the  sinner's  ruin,  the  under- 
standing, whether  more  or  less  enlightened,  is  declared  to  have 
sufficient  light  to  leave  the  sinner  "  without  excuse,"  and  to 
make  his  destruction  chargeable  alone  to  his  free  and  voluntary 
choice. 

Were  not  the  motive  but  too  well  known  ;  were"  not  this  sen- 
timent identified  as  an  integral  part  of  a  hideous  and  loathsome 
scheme  of  antinomian  tenets,  where  at  every  step  the  princi- 
ples of  eternal  justice  are  sacrificed  to  the  monstrous  brood  en- 
gendered by  darkness  and  superstition,  where  benevolence  and 
virtue  arc  immolated  at  the  shrine  of  selfishness,  and  where  defer- 


346 

mity  itself  is  the  only  rule  of  proportion,  it  would  seem  surprising, 
that  any  one  who  had  read  the  bible  could  pretend  to  draw, 
from  that  exhaustless  storehouse  of  truth,  a  doctrine  so  oppo- 
site to  the  blazing  light  of  experience,  to  the  steady,  constant, 
and  universal  voice  of  reason,  and  to  the  innumerable  and  ex- 
press declarations  of  that  sacred  book. 

There  is,  probably,  not  a  sentiment  which  ever  engaged  the 
attention  of  the  human  mind,  in  which  all  mankind,  in  all  ages 
and  nations,  are  more  unanimous,  than  that  men  know  better  than 
they  do.  A  savage,  a  philosopher,  a  heathen,  a  christian,  a  jew, 
a  mahometan,  will  readily  grant  it,  and  whoever  is  a  spectator 
of  human  actions,  cannot  fail  to  know  it.  Ignorant  as  a  man  is, 
or  can  be,  his  passions  and  inclinations  will  overleap  the  bounds 
of  his  reason,  and  his  own  conscience  will  directly  tell  him  so, 
and  reprove  him.  Nor  was  ever  a  code  of  morality  taught  on 
earth  which  so  completely  imbibed  the  inclinations  of  the 
heart,  as  to  annihilate  the  sphere  of  conscience,  and  supervene 
all  the  dictates  of  reason. 

The  scriptures  teach  that  where  th  ere  is  great  light,  or  know- 
ledge of  duty,  that  there  the  guilt  of  disobedience  is  great,  and 
so,  in  general,  they  apportion  the  degree  of  guilt  to  that  of 
knowledge. 

Judge  Blackstone,  somewhere  remarks,  that  a  man,  ignorant 
of  human  laws,  who  falls  into  transgression,  may,  through  the 
imperfection  of  human  administration,  be  holden  to  the  legal 
penalty,  but,  nevertheless,  cannot  be,  in  the  eye  of  society,  or 
even  of  the  law  itself,  impeached  of  moral  or  political  turpi- 
tude, unless  ihe  transgression  be  of  a  nature  which  the  univer- 
sal laws  of  society  forbid ;  which  qualification  supposes  that 
he  might  have  known  better. 

If  a  total  ignorance  of  every  thing  whatever,  amounting  to 
the  entire  privation  of  reason,  would  exclude  all  accountable- 
ness,  as  is  supposed  to  be  the  case  with  idiots  and  maniacs,  or 
with  beasts  and  incogitative  machines,  then  a  total  ignorance  of 
any  one  thing  places  a  man,  in  relation  to  that  thing,  as  though 
it  did  not  exist. 

I  am  fully  aware  of  the  famous,  but  senseless,  dispute  which  is 
raised  here.     The  objector  says,  "  But  supposing  a  man  has  de- 


347 

stroyed  his  own  knowledge,  or  caused  his  own  ignorance,  what 
then  ?"  And  this  same  cavil  is  introduced  on  the  subject  of  ina- 
bility, and  indeed,  is  a  part  of  it  ;  for  they  say,  the  sinner  has 
destroyed  his  own  ability — therefore,  since  he  did  it  himself,  he 
is  still  held  to  perform. 

There  is  not  room  to  enter  into  this  subtle  point  of  metaphy- 
sics here.  Nor  is  it  of  much  importance,  since  both  the  premi- 
ses and  the  conclusion  of  the  argument,  as  they  use  it,  are  false  ; 
for  in  the  first  place,  sinners  neither  do,  nor  can,  destroy  their 
ability  to  obey  God,  further  than  consists  in  depravation  of  will ; 
and,  in  the  second  place,  if  they  could,  the  conclusion  they  draw 
would  not  certainly  follow. 

Supposing  a  man  commits  suicide,  hangs  himself,  and  goes 
out  of  the  world,  is  he  still  under  obligation  to  live  with  his  fa- 
mily and  carry  on  his  business  1 — A  man  cuts  off  his  legs,  is  he 
after  that  under  obligation  to  run  a  race  ? — After  a  man  has  put 
out  his  own  eyes,  does  he  commit  sin  for  neglecting  to  perform 
the  duties  which  require  eyesight  ? 

This  subject  requires  careful  reflection  ;  and  I  think  but  little 
penetration  is  sufficient  to  enable  any  man  to  perceive  that  one 
natural  impossibility  as  efl^ectually  bars  obligation  as  another. 
If  I  am  the  only  pilot  of  a  vessel,  through  a  dangerous  naviga- 
tion, the  man  who  destroys  my  eyesight,  knowing  the  duty  in- 
cumbent on  me,  is  accountable  for  all  the  consequences  that 
will  follow  ;  and  it  does  not  vary  the  case  whether  that  act  is 
done  by  me  or  another  man.  Whoever  in  that  case  puts  out 
ray  eyes,  commits  no  sin  for  not  navigating  the  vessel,  for  he 
knows  nothing  of  navigation.  His  sin  consists  in  destroying 
the  power  to  navigate  the  vessel,  and  incurring  the  evils  of  ship- 
wreck ;  and  the  same  will  be  my  sin  for  the  same  reason,  and 
no  other  ;  for  after  my  eyes  are  out,  I  am  no  more  able  to  do 
it  than  he  is. 

The  Divine  government  is  not  so  weak,  capricious,  or  impro- 
vident, as  to  involve  itself  in  the  necessity  of  losing  its  dignity, 
or  exacting  impossibilities.  The  sinner  who  may  in  any  man- 
ner destroy  his  own  means  or  faculties  of  doing  his  duty  in  fu- 
ture is,  no  doubt,  guilty  of  a  great  crime,  but  his  crime  is  the 
same   as   would   be  the   crime   of  another  man,  who  hrirl  ^Unp 


348 

that  work  for  him,  under  equal  advantages  of  knowing  the  con- 
sequences. 

As  the  performance  of  an  act,  without  intention,  is  no  virtue, 
being  merely  the  operation  of  machinery,  so  the  omission  of  an 
act  is  no  crime  where  there  is  no  correspondent  intention,  and, 
above  all,  where  there  is  no  capacity,  even  if  there  were  inten- 
tion ;  otherwise  a  mountain  might  be  blamed  for  not  performing 
the  duties  of  a  rational  being. 

As  for  a  man  who  shall  destroy  irrevocably  his  own  faculties 
to  do  a  duty,  human  laws  will  decree  such  amercement  as  may 
be  within  the  scope  of  their  policy,  and  the  Divine  government, 
which  alone  weighs  actions  in  all  their  relations  and  consequen- 
ces, will  inflict  such  punishment  as  infinite  goodness  shall  ap- 
prove. But  neither  Divine  nor  human  laws  will  regard  this 
maH  in  the  same  light  they  do  another  man,  who,  with  full  pow- 
ers, and  faculties  unimpaired,  intentionally  refuses,  from  day 
to  day,  to  do  his  duty.  Since  the  one  who  has  disqualified 
himself,  and  destroyed  his  own  powers,  may,  perhaps,  the  next 
hour  after  this  outrage  committed  on  himself,  most  deeply  re- 
pent of  his  conduct,  and  regret  what  he  has  done  ;  and  this  re- 
pentance, though  surely  it  cannot  shield  him  from  the  legal  con- 
sequences, yet  will  not  fail  to  place  his  character  in  a  very  dif- 
ferent light,  before  any  tribunal,  from  that  of  the  wilful,  deter- 
mined aggressor,  and  under  an  economy  of  grace  might  pro- 
cure his  pardon:  but  were  there  no  grace — if  eternal  and  in- 
flexible justice  governed  all  worlds — still  these  two  characters 
must  appear  widely  difl*erent. 

But  all  this,  reader,  is  hypothetical  reasoning  of  the  highest 
class.  God  has  taken  care,  in  the  formation  of  rational  immor- 
tal intelligences,  that  their  general  capacity  for  duty  and  obedience 
shall  not  rest  on  such  frail,  baseless  foundations,  as  to  perish 
with  the  first  acts  of  disobedience.  Never  was  a  more  absurd  or 
dangerous  opinion  advanced,  than  that  every  rebel  against  God 
completely  and  for  ever  incapacitates  himself  to  do  his  duty,  ei- 
ther by  destroying  his  understanding,  or  by  any  other  means. 

On  this  subject,  I  beg  leave  lo  draw  the  reader's  attention  to 
the  opinions  of  two  most  eminent  and  learned  men ;  and,  by  the 
by,  from    the  same  source  he  may  also  see,   with  how  much 


349 

want  of  candour,  or  of  knowledge,  many  rashly  reject  the  dis- 
tuiction  between  natural  and  moral  inability  as  a  new  notion 
started  in  New  England. 

"  Moral  incapacity,"  says  Dr.  Howe,  (Blessedness  of  the 
Righteous,  p.  231,)  "  is  also  in  some  sense  truly  natural,  that  is, 
in  the  same  sense  wherein  we  are  said  to  be  children  of  wrath, 
by  nature ;  therefore,  human  nature  must  be  said  to  be  created 
by  God,  and  as  propagated  by  man.  In  the  former  sense,  as 
God  is  the  author  of  it,  it  is  taken  in  this  distinction  of  natural 
and  moral  impotency ;  which  needs  not  further  explication  : — 
yet  you  may  take  this  account  of  it  from  Dr.  Twisse."*  The  in- 
ability of  doing  what  is  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God  is  not  an 
impotence  of  nature,  but  of  morals ;  for,  by  means  of  original 
sin,  no  faculty  is  wanting  to  us  :  and  to  this  effect  saith  Augus- 
tine, "  Sin  hath  taken  from  no  one  the  faculty  of  knowing  the 
truth ;  the  power  yet  remains,  by  which  we  can  do  whatever 
we  will  ;  or,  if  you  please,  we  say  that  the  natural  power  of  act- 
ing, according  to  their  discretion,  is  given  to  all  men,  but  not 
the  moral." 

It  appears  from  the  quotations,  that  the  distinction  of  moral 
inability  or  impotency,  was  thought  of  before  the  days  of  Hop- 
kins, and  was  taught  even  by  Dr.  Twisse,  who,  perhaps,  the 
reader  may  not  know,  till  he  is  informed,  was  Prolocutor  to 
our  famous  Assembly  of  divines,  and  was,  perhaps,  the  most 
distinguished  man  in  that  Assembly.  And  as  for  Augustine,  he 
is  the  man  above  all  others,  who,  among  the  ancient  fathers 
of  the  church,  the  triangular  men  pretend  to  claim.  But  enouo-h 
of  this. 

Neither  is  the  question,  whether  a  [total  extinctfon  of  the 
knowledge  of  duty  would  totally  cancel  all  obligation,  much  less 
hypothetical  than  the  former.  We  do  not  know  that  such  a 
case,  or  that  such  a  class  of  men,  possessing  the  use  of  their 
reason  and  faculties,   ever    existed   in   the  world.      We    know 

*  Itnpotentia  faciendi,  quod  Deo  gratum  est  et  acceptutiy,  non  est  impo- 
tentia  naturae,  sed  morum.  Nulla  etenim  nobis  deest  facultas  natura  per  pec- 
caturaoriginale;  juxtaillud  Augustina;  Nulli  agnoscendi  veritatis  abstuht 
tacultatem.  Vind.  L.  Sect.  6.  Naturalem  potentiam  quidlibet  agcndi  pro- 
arbitrio  ipsoruna  dicimua  adomnes  transmitti,  non  autem  potentiam  moralera 
SO 


350 

from  the  light  of  sacred  history,  that  the  ancient  heathen  nations 
were  extremely  ignorant  of  God  and  the  true  religion :  we  also 
know,  that,  speaking  of  them,  the  apostle  Paul  declares,  *'  The 
times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at,  but  now  commandelh  all 
men  every  where  to  repent."  By  this  mode  of  expression  we 
are  given  to  understand,  that  God  beheld  the  failings,  supersti- 
tions, and  corruptions  of  their  worship,  with  an  eye  less  scrutiniz- 
ing and  severe,  from  the  consideration  of  their  very  great  igno- 
rance. 

In  considering  this  point,  however,  two  important  cautions 
are  necessary.  Firsts  that  we  do  not  overrate  the  ignorance  of 
the  heathen,  as  to  its  extent,  and,  Secondly,  that  we  distinguish 
between  that  part  of  it  which  is  wilful,  and  that  which  is  neces- 
sary or  unavoidable. 

Many  heathen  nations  have  in  all  ages  been  very  ignorant. 
Butjthe  Lord  saith  not  as  man  saith;  and  merely  their  want  of 
language,  arts,  and  manners,  deprives  him  not  of  the  proper  cri- 
terion of  judging  their  hearts.  St.  Paul  does  not  allow  that  the 
heathen  are  excluded  from  all  possible  means  of  knowing  the 
true  God :  since  the  works  of  nature  declare  the  invisible  pow- 
er and  Godhead  ;  and  those  who  have  not  the  law,  are  a  law  to 
themselves,  their  consciences,  in  the  mean  time,  accusing  or 
excusing  them,  so,  as  he  expressly  asserts,  that  they  are  with- 
out excuse,  for  not  loving  and  obeying  God,  according  to  the 
light  they  have. 

I  wish  not  to  express  too  much  confidence  with  regard  to  the 
state  of  the  heathen,  since  the  spirit  of  truth  has  not  been  pleas- 
ed to  speak  largely  and  particularly  of  their  state  ;  but  one 
thing  is  certain,  the  great  contempt  in  which  their  morals  and 
characters  are  held,  by  christian  nations,  generally  flows  from 
prejudice,  partiality,  and  unfair  comparisons.  Among  the  low- 
er classes  of  people  in  all  great  cities  on  the  globe,  nearly  the 
same  vices  prevail,  and  notwithstanding  the  difference  of  laws 
and  regulations,  it  is  melancholy  to  reflect  how  little  advantage 
those  called  christian,  hold  over  others  in  point  of  morality. 
And  it  is  still  more  remarkable,  that  in  the  interior  regions  of 
the  great  nations  of  Asia  and  Africa — in  the  huts  and  cabins 
of  the  shepherd,  tradesman,  and  farmer,  w^here   they  are   sufii- 


351 

ciently  distant  from  the  corrupting  influence  of  cities,  armies, 
wars,  and  revolutions,  if  there  be  less  of  positive  virtue,  there  is 
less  surely  of  vice.  There  is  nothing  to  compare  with  that  im- 
mense, enormous  front  of  moral  depravity,  which  lifts  its  head 
above  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  like  a  dreadful  tyrant  of  un- 
limited prerogative,  sways  its  black,  and  filthy]  sceptre ;  which 
thunders  in  blasphemous  profanity ;  winds  its  serpentine  course 
through  a  labyrinth  of  dishonesty — spurns  all  religion,  although, 
perhaps,  professing  the  christian. 

Noah  and  his  sons  taught  the  true  religion,  and  from  this  and 
subsequent  sources  it  is  owing  that  all  nations  admit  the  being 
of  God,  a  superintending  providence,  and  a  future  state  of  re- 
wards and  punishments.  Beside  what  might  descend  from 
these  very  ancient  sources,  there  is  another  mode  by  which 
heathen  nations  may  receive  Divine  instruction.  The  light  of 
reason  and  conscience,  furnished  with  ample  instructions  from 
the  volume  of  nature,  is  bestowed  on  every  human  mind. — 
These  lights,  indeed,  without  any  previous  knowledge,  and  un- 
der the  strong  influence  of  native  depravity,  might  never  enable 
the  human  mind  to  discover  the  being  and  perfections  of  God. 
But  when  once  that  grand  idea  is  awakened ;  when  once  a  rea- 
sonable creature  is  informed  there  is  a  God,  the  creator  of  all 
things — that  the  soul  is  immortal — that  there  is  another  and  far 
more  important  state  of  being  than  this  life,  it  can  nevei  be  forgot- 
ten ;  and  I  scarcely  need  add,  that  the  appearance  of  the  visible 
world,  the  grand  and  glorious  revolutions  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
the  regular  change  of  seasons,  all  the  laws  of  the  animal,  vegeta- 
ble, and  material  kingdoms,  serve  eminently  to  invigorate,  enforce, 
and  illustrate  these  great  truths. 

The  ignorance  of  the  heathen  is  truly  deplorable,  even  that 
part  of  it  which  is  inevitable,  and  wholly  beyond  his  power  to 
remove.  But  there  is  another  part  of  his  ignorance,  which  is 
wilful,  and  far  more  strongly  connected  with  his  guilt  and  danger. 
If  the  improvement  of  a  privilege  be  not  certainly  connected  with 
its  increase,  and  with  other  privileges,  its  misimprovement  and 
abuse  will  generally  be  connected  with  its  loss,  and  certainly  with 
guilt  in  proportion  to  its  magnitude. 

There  is  nothing  impossible  in  the  supposition  that  a  heathen 


S52 

may  look  abroad  upon  the  immense  universe  and  say,  "  There 
is  a  God,  and  I  am  his  creature.  Such  being  his  kingdom, 
how  glorious  and  excellent  must  he  be  ?"  Who  can  certainly  say 
what  would  be  the  happy  consequence  if  a  heathen  should  fol- 
low the  best  light  he  has  1  Should  indeed  obey  the  law  that  is 
within  him  ?  Should  follow  such  light  as  the  Father  of  lights  af- 
forded ?  Is  there  a  certainty  that  no  ray  from  the  Sun  of  right- 
eousness would  ever  reach  him?  The  almighty  Ruler  of  all 
worlds,  in  whose  hand  are  the  destinies  of  all  creatures,  pays  little 
regard  to  those  dark  notions  of  order  and  consistency  by  which 
our  feeble  minds  would  seem  sometimes  to  affect  to  fetter  his  ope- 
rations. He  certainly  regards  his  own  laws,  but  we  certainly  do 
not  comprehend  the  extent  of  their  operations. 

In  every  page  of  the  sacred  volume,  the  guilt  of  sinners  is 
predicated  upon  the  violation  of  the  light,  and  abuse  of  the  ad- 
vantages they  have.  Of  course,  the  guilt  of  different  nations 
is  represented  as  being  vastly  different ;  yet  all  as  guilty,  be- 
cause all  have  certain  advantages.  All  have,  at  least,  one  cer- 
tain advantage :  They  dwell  in  God's  kingdom ;  they  live,  and 
move,  and  have  their  being  in  God  :  He  is  not  very  far  from 
every  one  of  them.  Since  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  is 
given  to  Christ;  since  there  is  subjected  to  him  not  only  the 
present  world,  but  that  which  is  to  come,  these  benighted  hea- 
then dwell  under  his  government,  and  he  will  be  their  final  judge. 
A.nd  as  God  has  given  him  the  heathen  for  his  inheritance,  and 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession,  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  were  the  light  of  the  gospel  to  reach  the  heathen,  or 
any  heathen  nation,  they  might  become  the  subjects  of  the  Re- 
deemer's grace. 

But  who  shall  presume  to  limit  the  sphere  enlightened  by 
the  beams  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness  1  Is  he  not  "  the  true 
lis^ht  that  lighteneth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world  /"  This 
light,  as  propagated  by  different  means,  and  in  various  ways,  shines 
with  unequal  degrees  of  strength  and  steadiness :  but  who  that 
knows  the  power  and  providence,  the  grace  and  mercy  of  God, 
can  assuredly  say  that  an  offer  of  salvation  does  not  reach  eve- 
ry smner  1  Who  can  be  assured  that,  at  the  day  of  judgment, 
every  condemned  sinner  will  not  be  made  clearly  to  see,  that 


358 

his  condemnation,  so  far  from  arising  from  the  inevitable  thraldom 
of  his  nature,  from  which  no  relief  had  ever  been  brought  within 
his  reach,  from  a  depravity  of  his  understanding,  which  rendered 
his  exclusion  from  life  certain,  whether  he  would  or  not,  arose 
from  his  wilful  blindness,  his  perverseness,  and  abuse  of  such  pri- 
vileges as  he  had  been  favoured  with. 

The  condemnation  of  those  who  perish  under  the  light  of  the 
gospel,  will  certainly  issue  upon  the  charge  of  their  rejecting  sal- 
vation ;  and  as  a  propitiation  is  certainly  made  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world,  (1  John  ii.  2.)  I  must  leave  the  reader  to  fix  in  his 
own  mind  the  import  of  the  declaration,  John  i.  9.  "  That  was 
the  true  light  which  lighteneih  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
world,^^  observing  that,  in  the  very  next  verse,  the  import  of  the 
term  would  is  unequivocally  established  ;  for  he  observes,  "  He 
was  in  the  world,  and  the  world  was  made  by  him." 

Our  Saviour  declares,  that  the  people  of  Sodom  and  Gomor- 
rah, of  Nineveh,  of  Tyre,  and  Sidon,  shall  be  found  less  guilty, 
and  shall  be  less  severely  punished,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  thao 
those  people  who  heard  him  preach,  and  enjoyed,  and  rejected, 
the  light  of  the  gospel,  because  their  privileges  were  less.  Yet 
the  people  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  of  Nineveh,  of  Tyre,  and 
Sidon,  and  of  all  those  countries,  probably  had  much  greater 
advantages  than  we  readily  imagine ;  and,  indeed,  the  advantages 
of  all  heathen,  in  all  situations  whatever,  are  somewhat  greater 
than  many  are  willing  to  admit,  and  are  such  as  will  subject  them 
to  the  charge  of  wilful  blindness.  Let  us  hear,  on  this  subject, 
the  reasonings  of  St.  Paul,  Rom.  i.  18.  "  For  the  wrath  of  God  is 
revealed  from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness 
of  men,  who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness,  because  that  which 
may  be  known  of  God,  is  manifest  in  them ;  for  god  hath 
SHOWED  IT  UNTO  THEM.  For  the  invisible  things  of  him  from 
the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the 
things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead;  so 
that  they  are  without  excuse.'*^ 

This  declaration  amounts  to  this,  that  God  is  angry  at  the 
wickedness  of  the  heathen,  because  he  has  given  them  sufficient 
light  to  know  their  general  duty  and  obhgations  ;  "  Because,^'' 
says  he,  "  that  which  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  tn  them. 


354 

foT  God  hath  showed  it  unto  them^  And  he  explains  in  what 
way ;  for  he  says,  "  The  invisible  things  of  him,  from  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things 
that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead ;  so  that  they 
are  without  excuse.'''* 

But  he  proceeds :  "  Because  thai  when  they  knew  God,  they 
glorified  him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful,  but  became  vain 
in  their  imaginations,  their  foolish  heart  being  darkened ;  pro- 
fessing themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools,  and  changed  the 
glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into  an  image^''  <^c.  After  many 
observations  upon  their  obstinacy  and  wilful  blindness,  he  comes 
at  length  to  say,  "  And  even  as  they  did  not  like  to  retain  God 
in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  to  do 
those  things  which  are  not  convenienty 

Having  stated  the  enormous  wickedness  to  which  they  pro- 
ceed, he  finally  concludes  with  this  extraordinary  remark  : 
*'  Who  knowing  the  judgment  of  God^  that  they  which  commit 
such  things  are  worthy  of  death,  not  only  do  the  same,  but  have 
pleasure  in  them  that  do  them.'*'' 

In  the  second  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  St.  Paul 
further  remarks,  "  For  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just  before 
God,  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified.  For  when  the 
Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the  thi?igs  contained 
m  the  law,  these  having  not  the  law,  are  a  laio  unto  themselves  ; 
which  show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  con- 
science also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  ac- 
cusing or  else  excusing  one  another.'''' — V.  13,  14,  15.  He  applies 
this  reasoning  in  the  26th  verse  :  "  Therefore,  if  the  uncircumci- 
sion  keep  the  righteousness  of  the  law,  shall  not  his  uncircu?nci- 
sion  be  counted  for  circumcision  ?  and  judge  thee,  who  by  the  let- 
ter and  circmyicision  dost  transgress  the  law  V 

It  is  rare,  that  ignorance,  with  a  direct  and  obvious  allusion 
to  the  intellect,  is  charged  upon  the  heathen,  without,  at  the 
same  time,  putting  it  to  the  account  of  wilful  blindness,  or  a 
voluntary  withdraw  of  the  attention  from  the  objects  of  reli- 
gion. The  famous  passage,  Ephes.  iv.  18.  ^^  Having  our  under- 
standing darkened,^''  &c.  will  appear  in  this  light  by  considering 
its  connexion,  v.  17.  "  This  I  say,   therefore,  and  testify  in  the 


355 

Lord,  that  ye  henceforth  walk  not  as  other  Gentiles  walk,  in  the 
vanity  of  their  mind  :  (v.  18.)  Having  the  understanding  darken- 
ed, being  alienated  from  the  life  of  God  through  the  ignorance 
that  is  in  them,  because  of  the  blindness  of  their  hearts." 

The  ignorance,  or  darkness  of  understanding,  here  mentioned* 
is  expressly  ascribed  to  blindness  of  heart  as  its  cause:  "  because 
of  blindness  of  hearth  As  I  would  presume,  there  can  be  but 
one  opinion  concerning  the  meaning  of  blindness  of  heart,  this 
passage  places  the  ignorance,  here  ascribed  to  wicked  men,  as 
we  considered  it  in  the  former  part  of  this  essay,  as  among  the 
consequences  of  sin,  but  probably  adventitious  to  its  nature. 

The  heart  is  the  seat  of  affection,  of  love  and  hatred,  of  sin 
and  holiness  :  blindness  of  heart  is  that  disaffection,  or  sinful  re- 
gard, with  which  the  sinner  contemplates  the  Divine  character, 
and  the  great  objects  of  religion.  In  this  sense,  the  sinful  heart 
is  totally  blind  to  the  beauty  of  God,  the  loveliness  of  Christ, 
the  glory  of  heaven,  and  all  the  excellence  of  divine  things. 
Therefore  it  is  said,  1  Cor.  ii.  14.  "  The  natural  man  receiveth 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto 
him,  neither  can  he  know  thern,  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned." This  construction  of  this  text  is  confirmed  by  the 
leading  phrase,  "  For  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 
the  Spirit ;"  there  is  the  defect  ;  he  receiveth  not,  i.  e.  he  rejects 
them  in  his  heart,  he  hates  them,  because  they  are  foolishness 
unto  him.  In  this  sense,  also,  the  word  knoidedge,  or  the  phrase 
to  know,  is  often  used  in  the  word  of  God,  when,  should  it  be 
applied  to  the  intellect,  or  understanding  strictly,  the  bible 
would  be  cut  in  pieces,  and  be  no  better  than  a  book  of  riddles, 
or,  rather,  of  palpable  contradictions.  The  phrase  to  know  God 
and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  to  know  is  life  eternal,  refers  not  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  understanding,  but  of  the  heart ;  for  we  have 
just  above  heard  the  word  of  God  declare,  that  the  wicked  do 
know  God,  and  glorify  him  not  as  God  :  that  they  know  their 
master^s  will  and  do  it  not :  that  they  know  the  judgment  of 
God,  and  that  they  which  do  such  things  are  worthy  of  death,  &c. 
in  short,  that  that  which  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  in 
them,  for  God  hath  showed  it  unto  them  ;  so  that  they  are  without 
excuscj  for  their  disobedience. 


356 

If  by  this  notion  of  the  enlightening  influence  of  the  divine 
spirit,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  any  thing  is  revealed  to  the 
sinner  which  is  not  revealed  in  the  Bible,  if  new  truth  be  com- 
municated, if  truth  be  communicated  in  a  new  form,  so  as  to 
make  different  impressions  on  the  mind,  then  the  Bible  is  not  the 
true  revelation  of  God ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  absurd  no- 
tions of  some  of  the  most  odious  fanatics  which  ever  infested 
and  corrupted  the  church  are  justified,  and  all  confidence  is 
withdrawn  from  the  standard  of  eternal  truth.  But  if  it  be  urg- 
ed, that  these  enlightening  influences  merely  aid  the  sinner's 
understanding,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  understand  the  truth,  to 
this  it  is  rephed,  the  understanding  needs  no  such  aid,  and  the 
idea  is  both  unreasonable  and  unscriptural.  Truth  cannot  be 
presented  plainer  than  it  is  in  the  word  of  God;  and  the  difficul- 
ty of  receiving  it  does  not  lie  in  the  intellect  or  understanding : 
Their  most  favourite  passage  confirms  this  idea,  '*  For  the 
natural  man  recciveth  not  the  things  of  the  spirit.'''  They  are 
foolishness  to  his  heart ;  as  the  fool  hath  said  in  his  hearty  there 
is  no  God.  They  are  alone  discerned  by  the  spiritual  mind, 
which  may  be  understood,  in  one  moment,  by  contrasting  it 
with  the  carnal  mind,  which  is  declared  to  be  enmity  with 
God.  Now,  if  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  with  God,  then  surely 
the  spiritual  mind  is  love  to  God. 

1  desire  the  reader  to  observe,  that  the  terms  carnal  and  spi- 
ritual are  generally  contrasted  in  the  New  Testament.  "  But 
the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God,  is  not  subject  to  his  laic, 
neither  indeed  can  be.""  What,  then,  is  the  spiritual  mind  ?  It 
is  love  to  God.  It  is  subject  to  his  law,  and  cannot  be  other- 
wise ;  i.  e.  loves  God  with  all  the  heart.  Again  ;  "  to  be  carnal- 
ly minded  is  death,  but  to  be  spiritually  minded,  is  life  and  peace, ^'' 
But  if  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God,  and  to  be  carnal- 
ly minded  is  death,  then  we  hear  the  apostle  say,  that  enmity 
against  God  is  death  ;  that  is,  not  natural  death  surely,  but  spi- 
ritual death ;  and  when  we  hear  the  scripture  speak  of  the  sin- 
ner as  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  we  at  once  understand, 
that  to  be  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins  is  to  be  in  a  state  of 
enmity  to  God.  But  if  enmity  to  God  is  spiritual  death,  then 
what  is  love  to  God  ?     It  is  spiritual  life.     For  if  the  carnal  mind 


357 

be  enmity  against  God,  and  if  to  be  carnally  minded  is  death' 
it  is  but  to  take  the  predicate  of  these  two  propositions,  and 
make  a  new  equation  out  of  them,  if  I  may  so  speak,  and  by 
the  axiom  that  any  two  things,  which  are  equal  to  a  third,  are 
equal  to  one  another,  the  unknown  quantity  is  exterminated,  or 
spiritual  death  explained.  Enmity  to  God,  and  death,  are  both 
predicated  of,  and  made  equal  to,'carnal  mindedness  ;  consequent- 
ly death,  or  spiritual  death,  is  enmity  against  God.  But  as  the 
spiritual  mind  is  contrasted  with  the  carnal  mind,  or  enmity  to 
God,  then,  by  an  irresistable  deduction,  love  to  God,  or  spiri- 
tual life,  must  be  predicated  of  the  spiritual  mind.  And  do  we 
not  hear  the  apostle  say,  "  to  he  spiritually  minded  is  life  and 
peace  ?" 

The  divine  illumination  for  which  they  contend,  and  the 
spiritual  things  about  which  they  talk,  relate  to  the  heart  and 
affections,  and  have  no  concern  with  any  conceivable  depravi- 
ty of  intellect,  by  which  sinners  cannot  duly  apprehend  truth, 
whenever  presented  with  its  proper  evidence.  The  human  un- 
derstanding has  three  modes  of  apprehending  truth.  The  first 
is  by  intuition.  Some  truths,  from  their  very  nature,  are  so  clear 
and  forcible,  that  the  mind  immediately  perceives  them,  with- 
out reasoning  or  effort  :  such  as  that  the  whole  must  be  greater 
than  a  part.  The  second  is  by  deduction,  and  is  only  different 
from  the  first,  in  that  it  embraces  several  steps,  or  links ;  for  al- 
though the  mind  may  not  see  intuitively  the  connexion  of  the 
two  extremes  of  a  long  argument,  yet  it  proceeds  intuitively  from 
step  to  step,  and  feels  an  equal  assurance  that  the  final  conclu- 
sion rests  on  the  certainty  of  intuition.  The  third  is  the  receiving 
of  truth,  or  facts,  upon  proper  evidence. 

But  it  is  truly  affecting  to  see  how  every  province  of  truth  is 
invaded  and  overrun  by  errors  of  every  description.  Some, 
like  an  army  of  Saracens,  sweeping  away  every  barrier,  and  de- 
forming alike  the  beauties  of  nature,  and  the  glorious  temple  of 
rehgion  itself:  others,  like  the  frogs  of  Egypt,  croaking  with  equal 
horrors  in  the  palace  or  the  cottage ;  and  others,  like  the  locusts, 
darkening  the  sun  and  the  air,  and  devouring  every  green  thing. 
Here  we  see  men  standing  high  in  the  public  confidence,  decla- 
ring   from  the  sacred  desk,  that  all  religious  truths  are  hidden 


358 

from  men's  understandings  ;  that  men  can  understand  syllo- 
gisms, mathematical  and  natural  truths,  but  the  moment  they 
turn  their  eyes  towards  the  doctrines  of  religion,  all  is  mystery — 
they  understand  nothing. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  word  of  God  to  justify  this  opinion  ; 
for,  as  I  have  already  observed,  the  passages  which  they  allege 
in  vindication  of  it,  relate  wholly  to  the  depravity  of  the  heart, 
and  to  that  ignorance,  which  blindness  of  heart  occasions,  and 
which  the  Scriptures  constantly,  and  with  great  plainness,  show 
to  be  a  wilful  blindness. 

The  consequences  arising  from  their  scheme,  if  once  fully  es- 
tablished, are  such  as  cannot  be  contemplated  but  with  alarm 
and  horror  by  those  who  have  a  proper  regard  for  the  salva- 
tion of  sinners  ;  and  with  indignation  and  contempt  by  the  irre- 
ligious. If  men  are  truly  condemned  for  Adam's  sin,  without 
any  consideration  of  their  own  conduct ;  if  an  atonement  is 
made  but  for  a  part  of  mankind,  and  yet,  those  for  whom  no 
atonement  is  made  are  required  to  believe,  and  condemned 
and  punished  for  unbelief ;  if,  exclusive  of  the  heart  and  affec- 
tions, men  are  so  truly  depraved  in  their  understandings, 
in  relation  to  religious  truth  and  doctrine,  that  the  whole  Bible 
is  a  sealed  book,  of  which  they  can  have  no  competent  under- 
standing, and  yet  they  are  required  to  understand  that  for 
which  they  have  no  capacity,  are  inculpated  with  the  heaviest 
censures  and  most  terrible  threatenings,  for  an  impotency  of 
nature,  born  with  them  ;  if  faith  be  made  the  grand  constituent  of 
all  religion,  and  yet  never  so  fully  explained  as  to  convey  any 
definite  idea  of  its  nature,  further  than  that  it  consists  in  a  strong 
persuasion  that  Christ  has  died  for  me,  and  is  about  to  save  me, 
that  he  has  paid  a  debt  which  I  owe  to  Divine  Justice,  and 
made,  thereby,  my  discharge  from  punishment  a  matter  of  legal 
demand;  that  the  infinitely  perfect  righteousness  of  his  active 
obedience  and  character  are  made  over  to  me  by  contract,  so 
that  prior  to  any  consideration  of  my  repentance  or  person- 
al holiness,  I  am  necessarily  pardoned,  and  eternally  justified ; 
that  in  the  gospel  plan  there  is  no  intermediate  idea,  between 
atonement,  pardon,  imputed  righteousness,  and  eternal  justifica- 
tion ;  and,  of  course,  that  the  christian's  sanctification  is  an  infe- 


359 

rior  consideration,  wholly  out  of  the  chain,  and  that  love  to 
God  makes  no  part  of  the  religion  of  the  gospel,  strictly  speak- 
ing, although  it  be  admitted  that  there  is  such  an  affection  in  the 
christian  as  love,*  and  such  another  affection  as  selfishness ;  if 
personal  holiness  be  kept  wholly  out  of  sight,  or  so  feebly  or 
mystically  explained,  that  the  hearer  will  form  no  conception 
of  its  usefulness  or  importance  ;  in  short,  if  a  perpetual  strain  of 
Divine  promises,  dealt  out  with  no  discrimination  of  character, 
and  calculated  to  foster  the  deepest  pride  and  most  odious  hy- 
pocrisy ;  if  all  these  combined  causes  of  ignorance,  error  and 
stupidity,  will,  in  due  time,  produce  astonishing  effects,  in  this 
city,  such  effects  may  be  looked  for — indeed,  are  already  par- 
tially produced. 

If  this  strain  of  doctrine  shall  maintain  its  ground,  and  prevail 
in  this  city,  it  will  soon  become  the  most  corrupt,  abandoned, 
and  profligate  city  on  earth.  These  doctrines  are  themselves 
the  floodgates  of  corruption.  When  religion  sets  a  man  loose 
from  his  obligations,  what  further  restraint  is  to  be  expected  ? 
Religion  was  sent  in  aid  of  the  voice  of  conscience.  She  kin- 
dled up  her  heavenly  light,  not  to  extinguish,  but  to  pour  new 
strength  and  brilliance  into  the  lamp  of  reason  :  and  that  is  not 
religion  which  makes  war  with  every  dictate  of  reason,  justice, 
and  common  sense,  and  wraps  itself  from  the  eyes  of  men  in 
glooms  of  obscurity  and  mists  of  darkness. 

But  if  this  scheme  prevails  in  this  city  ;  if  the  plans  and  pro- 
jects of  the  men  by  whom  it  is  taught  and  abetted,  are  crowned 
with  success  ;  if  they  shall  succeed  in  bearing  down  all  before 
them,  and  bringing  the  people  into  their  views,  the  great  body 
of  their  hearers  will  soon  become  infidels  in  sentiment  ;  their 
minds,  wearied  with  a  constant  strain  of  absurdities  and  contra- 
dictions, will  soon  learn  to  identify  religion  with  every  thing 
unreasonable  and  contemptible.      Their  churches    will   be  false 

*  Dr.  M'Leod,  Serm.  9,  p.  369,  says,  "It  is  easy  to  show  that  personal  re- 
hgion  includes  the  exercise  of  love  to  God  and  man."  But  I  aver,  that  any 
reader,  even  with  an  eagle's  eye,  who  shall  read  what  he  makes  of  it  in  the 
run  of  ten  pages,  will  be  convinced  that  it  was  no  easy  matter  for  him  to 
show  it :  and,  to  be  sure,  such  another  whirl  of  chaotic  atoms,  as  he  there 
puts  in  motion,  I  never  before  saw. 


360 

and  hollow  as  their  doctrines.  The  pains  they  are  taking  to 
weed  out  all  moral  notions,  nay,  Divine  love  itself,  which  is  the 
soul  of  all  religion,  as  it  is  the  nature  of  God,  will  instruct  them, 
when  it  is  too  late,  that  christian  ministers  are  but  unprofitably 
employed  in  promoting  selfishness,  ignorance,  and  prejudice. 
But  I  leave  them  in  the  hands  of  him  who  is  able  to  maintain 
the  cause  of  truth  ;  and  who  sometimes  suffers  errror  to  triumph 
as  a  punishment  to  the  wicked. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  II. 
THE  GOOD  PRESBYTERIAN. 

(Concluded  from  the  Fourth  Series.) 

Part  II. 

"  O  fortunati  quorum,  jam  mcenia  surgunt  !" 

Preaching  plain  Scripture,  without  tedious  reasonings,  or 
dry  and  deceptive  metaphysics,  and  preaching  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  give  no  offence  to  the  proud,  the  ignorant,  the  hypo- 
critical, the  fastidious,  the  vicious,  and  the  dull,  form  two  grand 
qualifications  of  the  good  Presbyterian. 

The  good  Presbyterian  makes  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the 
ecclesiastical  courts. 

In  this  grand  article,  I  suspect  that  this  class  of  men  are  per- 
haps surpassing  all  example  of  improvement.  I  have,  with  my 
own  eyes,  witnessed  sudden  attainments  which  almost  reconcil- 
ed me  to  the  astonishing  history  of  the  admirable  Crichton. 
New  England,  as  much  as  she  boasts  of  her  theological  im- 
provements, must  acknowledge  that  she  is  far  surpassed  in  this 
article — in  this  high  and  exalted  kind  of  ecclesiastical  excellence. 


361 

If  the  venerable  Findley  or  Davies  could  now  come  upon 
earth,  they  would  be  astonished  at  the  magnitude  and  splendour 
of  the  improvements  already  made,  and  now  making.  Me- 
thinks  I  can  almost  hear  what  they  would  say,  on  such  an  occa- 
sion ;  they  would  exclaim,  "  Happy  age !  to  be  distinguished 
by  such  greatness  !  Happy  people !  born  to  such  transcendent 
felicity  !  Happy  country  !  formed  for  the  theatre  of  such  re- 
markable displays  of  wisdom !  such  varied  excellences  and  ge- 
nerally to  be  ascribed  to  the  good  presbyterian,  as  every  year 
unfolds  itself  in  our  ecclesiastical  courts,  is  sufficient  to  chal- 
lenge the  admiration  of  the  present  generation,  and  I  cannot 
but  think,  would  be  a  useful  lesson  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  law 
employed  on  our  illustrious  bench  of  civil  justice ;  and,  perhaps, 
also  to  our  most  distinguished  civilians  of  every  description. 

Although  brief,  I  shall  be  somewhat  particular  and  elementa- 
ry in  this  discussion  ;  and  would  cheerfully  submit  it  to  the 
Mansfield  of  our  civil  courts*  to  say,  whether  ecclesiastical  ju- 
risprudence in  our  country  is  not  rising  to  a  respectable  and 
splendid  rank. 

1.  On  the  convening  of  a  spiritual  court,  you  find  yourself  in 
a   new    atmosphere  of    peculiar   influence,  powers,  and  density. 
I  hardly  know  what   to  call  it,  or  to  which  of  the   departments 
of  nature  or  science  to  turn,  to  aid  my  illustration.     Perhaps  the 
effects  of  some  of  the  aerated  gasses,  in  consequence  of  inspira- 
tion, might  resemble  it.     You   perceive  a  sharpness  of  intellect, 
an  intensity   of   attention,   an  acuteness  of  eye,  an   agitation  of 
muscular   lines,  varied  and    introverted  circles  of  light  and  mo- 
tion, thought   and  sentiment,    and  flashes  of  import  cross  and  wa- 
ver  on    the    countenance.     There    seems    at   first   nothing   like 
amalgamation  in  the  general  mass.     Every    thing  is   stern,  se- 
vere, biting,   distant,    alone,   averse,  opposite.     But  you  are  hap- 
py soon  to  perceive  that  all   this  is  but  a  conscious  thrill  of  the 
feehngs  of    independent   and    inflexible  justice.      You    are    to 
consider    that   the  only   Law  Book   of    this    court    is  astonish- 
ingly concise — comprised,    as  I   have  said,  in    a  few  duodecimo 
pages.     There   is  no   Blackstone,  Bacon,  Coke,  or  even  Burn's 

»  Judge  K— . 
31 


362 

Justice,  to  help  along.  There  are  few  words  of  precedents, 
opinions,  or  decisions,  to  consult :  yet  every  step  is  taken,  every 
act  is  done  by  law  or  precedent — not  a  speech  is  made  without 
the  ample  and  imposing  dress  of  parliamentary  discussion. 

The  technical  phrases  of  legislatures  and  courts  of  justice,  of 
lawyers  and  congress  orators,  are  necessary,  and  at  all  events 
must  be  had,  or  the  cause  is  injured,  the  dignity  of  the  court 
impaired,  and  the  speaker  sunk  down  to  nothing.  No  wonder, 
then,  at  this  thrill  of  a  nxiety,  this  oppressive  load  of  care,  at  the 
opening  of  a  session,  when  the  full  tale  of  bricks  are  to  be 
made,  and  no  straw  afforded,  nor  even  stubble  to  be  gathered, 
but  from  the  headlands,  balks,  and  corners  of  distant  fields,  and 
scanty  harvests.  And  many  of  the  court,  not  having  the  advan- 
take  of  PuffendorfT,  Montesquieu,  or  Vattel,  are  even  uncer- 
tain of  the  Jus  NaWrale,  Morale,  et  Civile,  of  every  case.  All 
these  evils  are  suddenly  remedied  in  a  manner  truly  astonishing  ; 
for. 

First,  The  courtly  air  of  every  thing  in  this  new  region,  this 
laboratory  of  ecclesiastical  jurisprudence,  is  such,  that  numbers 
begin,  without  knowing  it,  to  breathe  the  air  and  spirit  of  law. 
As  was  said,  in  another  case,  and  with  variant  import,  they,  in 
one  moment,  have  a  new  heart,  become  other  men,  and  have 
new  powers  of  intuition,  and  new  modes  of  communication. 
You  shall  see  one  rise,  and  with  the  most  perfect  parliamentary 
air,  such  as  would  appear  in  Wilberforce  or  Canning,  call  for 
"  the  order  of  the  day,"  although,  three  hours  before  this  trans- 
formation, he  would  certainly  not  have  known  what  that  phrase 
meant.  Another  will  arrest  a  debate  and  insist  on  "  the  pre- 
vious question,"  perhaps  never,  till  the  inspiration  of  that  pro- 
pitious moment,  knowing  the  technical  import  of  that  phrase. 
Another,  with  singular  adroitness,  shall  rise  to  move  that  a  com- 
mittee be  appointed  to  report  a  resolution,  to  overturn  a  cause, 
to  change  or  new  model  the  form  of  a  minute  to  be  entered  on 
record. 

With  astonishing  expertness  they  acquire  the  style  of  a  de- 
liberative legislative  assembly,  over  which  is  completely  super- 
induced the  technical  phrases  of  courts  of  law.     To  say  nothing 


S63 

of  the  convenience  of  this  learned  language,  I  may  remark 
how  very  necessary  it  is,  in  a  judicatory,  which,  in  feet,  holds 
plenary  powers,  both   legislative,  judicial  and  executive.     But, 

Secondly,  It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  every  member  in 
this  court,  can  suddenly  rise  to  this  great  attainment.  Many 
heavy,  plodding  men,  of  mere  plain  common  sense,  have  the 
infelicity  never  to  be  able  to  acquire  this  skill.  They  must  jog 
on  as  they  can,  but  they  never  can  hope  to  arrive  at  eminence, 
or  place  their  feet  on  the  shoulders  of  others ;  of  course,  they 
can  neither  shove  those  above  them,  nor  rise  from  the  dead  le- 
vel of  the  base  of  the  pyramid — can  never  become  good  presby- 
terians. 

I  have  often  heard  it  remarked,  that  a  man  who  means  to  ac- 
quire influence,  must  be  active  in  the  judicatories  of  the  church; 
and  this  notion  seems  to  be  the  main  spring  of  action.  The 
skill  of  which  I  am  speaking,  is  the  grand  desideratum.  There 
is  one  art,  it  is  said,  in  which  some  men  never  can  acquire  skill.* 
Enough,  however,  can  acquire  this  juridical  skill,  to  give  tone 
to  the  system,  to  take  a  decided  preeminence,  and  to  inspire  a 
much  larger  number  with  emulation. 

Parliamentary    business    has    one   dialect,  courts    of  justice 
another,  theologians  a  third ;  common,     civil,    statute,  and   ca- 
non laws,  have  distinct  phrases,  and  separate  courts ;  but  in  the 
court  before  us,  they  all  unite  the  spirit   of  their  maxims,  and 
the   concentrated   and  rectified  science   of  their  language.     But 
it  is  the  superlative  felicity  of  a  few  men,  a  few,   very   few   rare 
spirits,  to   exhibit  perfect   models    here.     I  have   them   this   mo- 
ment in  my  eye  ; 

"  Eloquar,  an  sileam  ?" 

Where  not  the  admiration  of  men  a  principle  of  absolute  levi- 
ty, they  carry  enough  of  it  about  them,  to  crush  Hercules, 
Sampson,  or  A.tlas.  But  light  as  it  is,  I  fear  to  load  them  with 
more  ;  I  shall  therefore  be  silent. 

But  though  I  must  not  speak  names,  I  surely  may  give  some 
lines,  perhaps  filled  with  a  little  mezzotinto,  in  doing  which  1 
shall  feel  an  inward  satisfaction,  and,  perhaps,  give  to  some  a  de- 

*  Freemasonry. 


364 

gree  of  the  same    sort   of  pleasure,  while  I  discharge  a  debt   of 
justice. 

I  fancy  some  oracle  of  ecclesiastical  jurisprudence  rising 
slowly  from  his  seat.  Ah !  'tis  he — it  is  the  venerable  Dr. 
Slambangus !  While  he  lays  back  his  foretop,  and  raises  and 
waves  his  hand,  to  put  the  humeri  extensores  in  tune  for  har- 
monious action  ;  while  the  ophthalmic  muscles,  with  awful  con- 
vergence, point  the  visual  ray  level,  beneath  a  superciliary  nex- 
us of  majesty  and  thought,  as  when  the  sun  from  the  eastern 
horizon  shows  half  its  orb  beneath  a  line  of  darkness,  an  at- 
tention spreads  that  Would  almost  render  thoughts  audible,  and 
give  an  echo  to  silence  itself.  He  speaks ! 
"  Mr.  Moderator, 

"  When  I  consider  the  dignity  of  the  chair  you  fill,  which 
dignity  it  derives  from  the  dignity  of  HIM  who  fills  it,  who  is 
promoted  by  the  dignitaries  of  the  church,  to  be  the  chief  dig- 
nitary of  all  the  dignitaries  of  this  ECCLESIASTICAL 
COURT,  I  feel  myself  dignified,  while  I  dignify  you,  Sir,  who 
are  dignified  by  those  whom  all  men  dignify.  Sir,  I  rise  to 
move  you,  that  there  be  a  commission  instituted,  and  a  com- 
mittee appointed,  to  prepare  and  report  a  bill,  to  this  house, 
relative  to  the  regulation  of  forms  of  business,  the  arrangement 
of  precedents,  and  the  revision  and  enlargement  of  law  phrases  : 
the  object  of  which  is  to  lay  a  broader  foundation  for  juridical 
science.  And  furthermore,  Sir,  if  this  motion  shall  prevail, 
and  be  carried  into  eff'ect,  I  have  it  in  contemplation  to  intro- 
duce another  motion,  which  I  move  may  be  the  order  of  the 
day  for  next  Monday,  the  object  of  which  shall  be  to  establish 
a  seminary  of  ecclesiastical  or  canon  law,  in  which  there  shall 
be  three  professorships  :  the  first,  to  form  into  a  body  of  reports 
the  decisions  of  all  judicatories,  drawn  from  their  records  and 
judgment  rolls  ;  the  second,  from  these  reports,  and  from  our 
standards^  to  form  regular  digests,  pandects,  or  codices  legum 
ecclesiasticorum ;  the  third,  to  arrange  and  complete  a  Lexicon 
of  legal  terms  and  phrases,  to  be  entitled.  Lexicon  verborum 
theologiorum  ecclesiasticorumque :  and  furthermore,  that,  pro- 
vided this  motion  shall  prevail,  to  move  for  the  order  of  the 
day  on   Tuesday,  that  the  theological   course  of  every   candi- 


■'^ 


S65 

date  for   licensure  shall  be  completed  by  four  years  instruction, 
under   these  professors,  which  I  presume   every  one   will   per- 
ceive to  be  of  vital  importance  to  the  ministerial  character." 

Though  I  have  stated  the  above    motions   merely    as  possible 
specimens   of  court  deliberation,  yet,  the  reader  will  readily  per- 
ceive that  there  is  far  more   than   mere  imagination   in  all  this. 
How  grand    would  be     the    era,  when    professors,   fellowships, 
and  colleges  of  ecclesiastical  law,    shall  be  established.     These 
canon    laws  would,   probably,    soon  derive   a   concurrent    juris- 
diction with   all  other  laws  of  the    country.     We  shall  not   then 
see  such    bungling,   as  we  now  often  see  with  blushes,  or  with 
regret.     Our   young  divines  will  come   forth  skilful  and  accom- 
plished  lawyers,  and  our  ecclesiastical  judicatories  will  open  a 
wide  and  splendid  field  of  parliamentary    eloquence  and   talents. 
But, 

2.  The  good  presbyterian  will  never  fail,  in  all  the  revolu- 
tions of  court  business,  in  all  debates,  appointments,  elections, 
influences,  manoeuvres,  ruses  de  guerres^  coup  de  mains,  for- 
lorn hopes,  and  extremities  of  court  management,  I  will  not 
say  intrigue,  to  maintain  fiirmly,  magnanimously,  gloriously, 
nay,  furiously,  and  desperately,  the  power  and  prerogative  of 
the  clergy.  And  what  can  be  more  just,  more  excellent,  more 
necessary  ?  Who  ought  to  have  power  but  men  possessed  of 
holiness  1  Are  they  not  born  to  rule  ?  And  where  is  the  authority 
so  well  coupled  as  with  wisdom  and  justice  1  Are  they  not  form- 
ed and  fitted  to  govern  ?  Behold  their  gravity,  their  meekness, 
their  candour,  their  wisdom,  their  tender  regard  for  the  welfare 
of  all  below  them,  their  magnanimous  mercy,  and  disinterested 
benevolence ! 

A  congregation  may  have  an  anxious  desire  to  settle  a  cer- 
tain minister  ;  but  a  body  of  clergymen  may  know  belter  than  to 
gratify  that  desire.  An  infant  will  sometimes  cry,  and  be  very  pet- 
ulent,  because,  a  careful  and  tender  nurse  keeps  its  fingers  out  of 
the  candle.  It  is  often  so  with  congregations  of  people  ;  their 
wishes  are  nothing ;  and  what  do  they  know  ?  It  is  for  their 
good  to  be  always  subject  to  the  high  and  infallible  decision  of 
every  ecclesiastical  court,  "IN    ALL  CASES  WHATSOEV. 

ER" — a  boon,  though  denied   the  King  of  Great  Britain,  can- 
31* 


366 

not  be  denied  a  reverend  clerg}'raan.  A  majority  is  nothing^ 
m  the  eye  of  the  law ;  since  it  is  well  known  that  the  minority 
IS  often  on  the  right  side  of  the  question. 

3.  In  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  the  good  presbyterian  is 
known  by  his  inviolable  adherence  to  forms.  And  this,  in  the 
present  state  of  business,  is  a  most  difficult  affair  to  manage, 
and  will  so  remain  till  legal  professorships  are  instituted. 
Where  the  standard  prescribes  no  form,  and  where  no  direct 
order  of  a  higher  judicatory  can  be  adduced  that  will  touch 
the  case,  I  have  sometimes  seen  the  strongest  indications  of  a 
brown  study  on  so  many  countenances.  In  these  distressing  ca- 
ses, some  master-spirit  always  affords  relief^  by  recollecting  a 
precedent. 

The  ancient  advocates  of  the  doctrine  of  substantial  forms, 
used  to  say,  "  If  it  is  important  that  a  thing  should  be  done,  it 
IS  equally  so,  that  it  should  be  done  in  some  manner — that  it 
should  have  some  form."  Is  there  not  reason  in  that  argument  ? 
Can  a  hat  exist  without  the  form  of  a  hat  ?  Forms  are  as  essen- 
tial as  things,  and  I  suspect  that  the  doctrine  of  substantial  forms 
will  soon  be  revived.  Why  should  we  spurn  and  disparage  the 
old  philosophers,  and  extol  and  revere  the  old  divines  ?  It  is 
absurd,  and  there  is,  no  doubt,  as  much  merit  in  certain  res- 
pects, in  the  one  class  as  the  other. 

Such  glorious  displays  of  invincible,  inviolable  attachment  to 
forms  as  I  have  seen  !  Reader,  it  would  do  your  heart  good,  lo 
see  the  like  ;  it  would,  I  aver,  exalt  your  opinion  of  human  na- 
ture. The  principle  of  uniformity  is  one  of  the  grandest  of  all 
nature's  harmonies.  When  a  thing  is  once  done,  it  should  al- 
ways be  done  in  the  same  manner^  and  then  people  may  know 
how  to  do  it.  No  possible  improvement  can  countervail  the 
beauty  and  uniformity  of  sameness.  The  man  that  sticks  to 
this  principle,  in  the  judicatories  of  the  church,  cannot  but  rise 
to  greatness  ;  and  I,  in  fact,  know  some  men  who  are  toihng 
and  climbing  to  the  high  and  distant  eminence  of  the  double  D, 
by  dint  of  nothing  else.  Men,  whose  minds  are  naturally  dull, 
fiat,  insipid,  and  inelastic  as  a  piece  of  slate,  by  constantly  and 
strenuously  pressing  formality  of  proceeding,  become,  at  length, 
highly  distinguished,  in  the  spiritual  court : — Moderator  of  a  Sy- 


367 

nod — Moderator   of  the    General   Assembly — Doctor — Professor 
— any  thing — every  thing — 


*'  His  countenance  like 
The  morning  star,  that  guides  the  starry  flock, 
Allur'd  them,  and  drew  after  him  a  third 
Part  of  heaven's  host." 


Nothing  makes  a  man  appear  so  great,  so  reverend,  so  wise. 
He  becomes,  at  once,  a  sacred  diplomatist — a  he-goat  of  the 
flock  ;  though  these  terms  may  not  seem  to  agree.  He  is  skil- 
ful ;  he  is  ready;  he  is  every  where  ihefac  totum.  "  Quod  di- 
cendum — dicit — -faciendum — facit,''''  Common  sense,  when  set 
in  competition  to  form^  appears  foolishness  ;  reason  no  better 
than  madness,  and  all  the  rules  of  expediency,  like  David's  ser- 
vants, under  the  shears  of  Hanun,  king  of  Moab,  glad  to  keep 
out  of  court  till  their  beards  are  grown,  or,  at  any  rate,  till  they 
can  get  longer  garments. 

4.  The  last  thing  I  shall  mention  is  the  wonderful  faculty  of 
some  great  leaders  to  vindicate  all  their  doctrines,  all  their  opi- 
nions, all  the  rules,  proceedings,  forms,  decisions,  and  decrees 
of  ecclesiastical  courts,  by  their  standard,  consisting  of  a  few 
duodecimo  pages ;  and  this  is  done  with  perfect  promptitude 
and  convincing  perspicuity.  There  must  be  a  ductility  in  the 
standard  which  surpasses  all  example.  I  do  not  say  that  every 
man,  or  even  every  man  of  talents  can  do  this  :  it  is  the  rare  fe- 
licity of  a  few  men  whose  genius  must  be  as  plastic  as  the  law 
book  itself.  A  small  piece  of  gold,  says  Lewenhoeck,  will  gild  a 
wire  that  will  reach  round  the  globe  ;  but  these  moral  ductilities 
seem,  for  aught  I  can  perceive,  to  be  absolutely  infinite.  But  to 
arrive  at  this  happy  talent,  the  ecclesiastical  civihan  must  explore 
the  standard  with  the  eyes  of  Archimedes,  many  times,  before 
he  shall  be  able  to  pronounce  the  joyful  "  Eurisko,  Eurisko." 

Before  I  close  on  this  article,  I  would  barely  suggest,  whe- 
ther it  would  not  be  better  to  have  the  bible  used  in  a  more  re- 
stricted manner.  It  is  an  exceedingly  sacred  book,  and  very 
liable  to  perversion.  If  every  man  be  allowed  to  read  it  for 
himself,  and  be  his  own  expositor,  there  will  certainly  be  a  di- 
versity of  opinions  both  in  doctrine  and  discipline;  and  many 
people  will  be  continually  differing  from  the  standard.     All  ex- 


368 

perience  demonstrates  this  fact,  that  where  people  make  a  free 
use  of  the  bible,  without  a  living  oracle  at  hand,  though  doubt- 
less a  very  plain  book,  they  will  differ  concerning  its  import. 
Perhaps,  indeed,  this  difference  was  first  set  on  foot  by  some  of 
those  living  oracles,  in  earlier  times,  when  living  and  breathing 
oracles  were  not  as  pure  and  honest  as  they  are  now,  or,  at 
least,  did  not  understand  the  bible  as  well  as  they  do  now,  when 
they  have  no  motive  to  mislead  the  minds  of  mankind. 

The  question,  however,  is,  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to 
put  the  standard  into  the  hands  of  the  people,  which  is  a  con- 
cise and  clear  statement  of  the  great  points  of  doctrine  and  dis- 
cipline, and  let  it  be  the  business  of  their  teachers  to  show  them 
its  exact  congruity  to  the  sacred  scriptures  ;  for  so  sure  as  they 
set  themselves  about  that  business,  they  will  often  make  very 
wild  work  of  it. 

I  have  been  put  into  this  train  of  thoughts  by  several  indica- 
tions which  appear  to  look  that  v/ay.  1  have,  in  the  first  place, 
noticed,  and  especially  since  the  science  of  ecclesiastical  juris- 
prudence has  made  such  progress,  that  the  great  leaders  in  that 
career  never  make  any  reference  to  the  word  of  God  in  our  ec- 
clesiastical courts  ;  they  appeal  directly  to  the  standard  as  the 
grand  and  only  law  book,  or  to  the  paramount  authority  of  pre- 
cedents founded  on  that  standard.  There  are,  indeed,  some 
blunt,  bungling,  and  old-fashioned  men,  who  will  sometimes 
quote  the  scriptures,  and  urge  a  passage  from  the  bible,  in  some 
disputable  case  or  question.  But  they  are  generally  laughed  at, 
or  frowned  upon,  as  totally  wanting  all  skill  and  sense  of  pro- 
priety ;  or,  perhaps,  are  pitied  for  their  ignorance,  ill-timid  ob- 
servations, and  rawness  in  such  matters.* 

In  a  few  rare  instances,  I  have  known  some  of  these  uncourt- 
ly  blunderers  to  insinuate,  that  a  certain  passage  ^in  scripture  ra- 
ther militiated  against  the  standard,  and  in  that  case  they  never 
failed  to  draw  down  upon  themselves  heavy  censures,  and  strong 
indignation. 

*  At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society,  during   the 
trial  of  Mr.  C — ,  amotion  was  made  to  exclude  scripture  proofs,  as  improper. 


369 

In  the  next  place,  I  have  observed,  that  these  true  and 
thorough  ecclesiastical  lawyers  do  not  promote  the  reading  and 
discussion  of  the  scriptures  among  their  people.  Such  an  mcli- 
nation  appearing  among  their  people  would  excite  alarm  and 
surprise,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  and  would  not  fail  to  meet 
with  serious  opposition.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  declare,  that  if 
such  a  propensity  should  manifest  itself  in  any  of  the  congrega" 
tions  of  these  triangular  preachers,  in  this  city,  it  would  not  fail 
to  excite  great  alarm,  and  would  immediately  be  suppressed 
and  put  down.  "  What,"  they  would  say,  "  these  people  are 
about  to  become  wiser  than  their  teachers !"  They  endeavour, 
indeed,  to  get  their   people    together  to  pray  and    sing  psalms  : 

but not     for    discussions !        And   I  call   upon    the   people 

of  this  city  to  witness,  that  no  meetings  or  associations  for 
rational  inquiry  into  religious  subjects,  grounded  on  the  scrip- 
tures,  is  ever  set  on  foot  or  encouraged  here.* 

It  would  make  people  speculative — would  result  in  disputes, 
raataphysics — perhaps  divisions  and  heresies.  They  had  better 
let  the  bible  alone,  and  leave  it  for  their  great  masters  to  ex- 
plain to  them  that  awfully  mysterious  book,  in  such  time,  place, 
and  manner,  as  they  please. 

Dr.  M'Leod  remarks,  (Sermon  6,  p.  232.)  that  in  well-re- 
gulated churches,  where  'piety  is  cultivated  by  the  pure  preach- 
ing of  evangelical  truth,  the  ordinary  means  of  growth  are  the 
noiseless  conversion  of  the  children  of  Zion,  that  is,  in  their  in- 
fancy. This  seems  to  be  a  grand  discovery,  but,  at  the  same  time, 
implies  a  concession,  that  the  world  has  never  yet  seen  a  well- 
regulated  church.  The  plan  of  regulations  the  Doctor  has  in 
mind  I  presume  would  complete  the  good  presbyterian,  and  be  a 
great  benefit  to  the  world.  The  Doctor  informs  us  (p.  231.) "  That 
the  promise  of  God  secures  the  salvation  of  the  offspring  of  be- 
lievers dying  in  infancy."  If  this  be  true,  on  account  of  the  bad 
regulation    of    churches,   it   would    seem  to    be  the  duty   of  all 

*  Bible  Classes  are  formed,  among  the  young  people  in  several  congrega- 
tions in  this  city,  and  their  object  is  highly  laudable,  but  essentially  difTerent 
from  the  one  above  mentioned.  In  these  classes,  the  priest  is  the  oracle ;  and 
the  knowledge  which  comes  over,  is  from  an  alembic,  which  gives  every 
thing  the  exact  colour  and  spirit  of  his  opinion.  There  is  nothing  like  fre® 
discussion  intended,  or  accomplished. 


370 

Christians  to  pray  that  God  would  take  away  all  their  children 
in  infancy ;  since,  according  to  the  best  light  we  can  get,  grow- 
ing up  to  manhood,  they  more  than  half  of  them  live  and  die 
in  impenitence,  and  are  lost.  There  seems,  however,  to  be  some 
difficulty  in  this  opinion,  but  here  is  no  place  for  argumentation  ; 
and  the  great  authority  of  the  Doctor  seems  to  forbid  it,  if  there 
were.  Yet,  I  must  observe,  holding  this  great  man  to  his  own 
premises,  if  such  be  the  condition  of  all  the  infant  children  of 
believers,  that  dying  in  infancy,  they  would  be  all  saved,  it  must 
be  because  Christ  has  made  atonement  for  all  their  sins,  which 
"  atonement,"  the  Doctor  says,  "  excludes  subsequent  punish- 
ment, and 'implies  reconciliation  :"  but,  such  being  their  condition 
in  infancy,  I  trust  it  will  continue  to  be  their  condition,  though 
they  should  attain  to  the  years  of  Methusaleh.  On  the  con- 
trary, if  the  child  of  a  believer  reaches  seventy  years,  and  then 
dies  a  sinner,  it  must  be,  on  the  Doctor's  plan,  because  Christ 
never  died  for  him,  and  had  he  died  in  infancy,  he  could  not 
have  been  saved. 

But  presently  the  Doctor  begins  to  talk  about  his  children  re- 
jecting God's  promise  of  eternal  salvation,  and  says,  "  they  will 
be  saved,  unless  they  reject  the  promise  of  eternal  life."  I  only 
desire  to  caution  him  to  take  care  what  he  says ;  for  does  he 
mean  to  say,  that  a  promise  of  eternal  life  is  made  to  any  one 
for  whom  Christ  did  not  die  ?  or,  when  made  to  one  for  whom 
Christ  did  die,  is  it  ever  finally  rejected  ?  He  is  over  his  line. 
For  myself,  1  read  that  the  promises  of  God  in  Christ,  are  not 
yea  and  nay,  but  yea  and  amen.     This,  however,  by  the  by. 

But  I  am  struck  with  the  beauty  and  harmony  of  a  system. 
We  first  see  the  doctrines  of  the  everlasting  gospel  preached 
to  the  church  and  to  the  world,  to  people  of  all  classes,  with- 
out giving  offence.  Even  the  offence  of  the  cross  has  ceased^ 
and  the  gospel  no  longer  sends  a  sword  on  earth,  but  peace. 
Like  a  gentle  anodyne,  it  creates  peace  and  quiet  in  every  bo- 
som, and  soothes  every  conscience.  In  the  next  place,  eccle- 
siastical polity  is  becoming  a  grand  science,  opening  scenes  well 
calculated  to  furbish  dormant  talents,  enkindle  glorious  ambi- 
tion, and  bring  the  church  on  high  ground.  In  the  third  place, 
a  smoother  road  to  conversion  is  discovered.  The  terrible 
noise  made   about  religious   revivals   in  this  country  is  all  mis- 


371 

take,  or,  more  properly,  a  delusion.  People  generally  become 
religious  in  infancy.  "  This  mode  of  bringing  home  to  the  great 
Shepherd  the  lambs  of  his  fold,  seems  to  be  more  congenial  with 
the  order  of  his  kingdom,  than  the  sudden  incursions  which  are  made 
into  the  territory  of  the  god  of  this  world  in  order  to  pluck  the  prey 
from  the  mighty,  and  bring  a  stranger  to  the  commonwealth  of  Israel. 
The  mode  of  conversion  alluded  to,  in  the  latter  case,  is  indeed 
more  remarkable;  but  this  fact  indicates  that  it  is  somewhat  ex- 
traordinary." 

If,  then,  in  the  numerous  revivals  called  religious,  since  the 
days  of  the  Reformation,  in  all  parts  of  Christendom,  but  now 
and  then  an  incursion  has  been  made  into  the  kingdom  of  the  god 
of  this  world,  and  if  a  stranger,  plucked  with  noise  and  bustle  from 
the  mighty,  has  been  an  extraordinary  C2ise,  and  not  congenial 
to  the  order  of  Christ's  kingdom,  let  preachers  become  a  little  more 
bland  and  soothing  to  pride  and  hypocrisy;  let  the  church  be- 
come a  hitle  better  regulated,  and  rise  to  more  show  and  splen- 
dor, and  these  noisy  awakenings  will  cease  to  trouble  and  con- 
found her  spiritual  lords  ;  the  church  will  soon  be  filled  up  with 
noiseless  conversions — indeed,  will  rise  in  self-importance  and 
self-deception,  till  her  bloated  and  rotten  fabric,  together  with 
her  infatuated  builders,  shall  sink  together  in  one  common 
ruin.  INVESTIGATOR. 


No.  III. 

In  introducing  a  letter  of  the  celebrated  Gilbert  Ten- 
nant,  to  his  brother,  William  Tennant,  during  his  mifl- 
istry  in  Philadelphia,  I  trust  I  shall  confer  a  pleasure  upon 
every  evangelical  reader ;  as  it  furnishes  a  noble  specimen 
of  the  vigorous  conceptions,  and  ardent  zeal,  of  a  great 
and  pious  mind. 

I  have  only  to  beg,  that  the  tame  and  temporising  spirits 
of  the  present  day  would  read  it,  and  see  the  immense  distance 
they  stand  from  the  temper  and  feelings  of  the  fathers  of  our 
church.  They  may,  also,  if  they  please,  perceive  no  less  dif- 
ference in  their  views  of  the  character  of  God,  as  well  as 
the  nature  and  quality  of  that  affection  which  creatures  owe 
him.  INVESTIGATOR. 


S72 


TO  THE    INVESTIGATOR. 

If  you  can  make  any  use  of  this  extract,  it  is   at  your  service. 
The  publication  is   in  my    possession.     In   a   letter  to  his    bro- 
ther William,  after  mentioning  certain   measures,  and  modes  of 
proceeding,  which   appeared  to   him  the  effects  of  carnal  policy, 
and  coldness  or  cowardice  in  the  cause    of  religion,  Mr.  T.  says, 
"  O,  my  dear  brother,  the   prudence  of  hypocrites,  and    many  of 
the  pious   of  this   generation,    though  it    be    highly     esteemed 
among  men,  is  an  abomination    in  the    sight    of  God  ;    a   mere 
mystery  of  selfish,    sneaking,  cowardly   iniquity.     They  get  by 
this  a  good  name  amongst  the   wicked,  which  they    call    charac- 
ter.    But  what  good  do    they   with  it  ?  And  what  comfort   have 
they  in  it  ?     For  my  part,  I  look  on  a  character    so  got,  and  so 
kept,  to  be  a  scandal,  and  a  reproach.     Away   with   the    abonii- 
nation  of  carnal  cunning  !  Let  us  come   out    for  God,  as  flames 
of  fire,  and  say,    with  gallant  Luther,    madness    is    better  than 
mildness  in   the  cause  of  God  !  Let  us   imitate  dear   and  noble 
Zuinglius,  who,  when  mortally  wounded  in  the    field   of  battle, 
triumphed   over    his    bloody    papal    enemies,    yea,    and    over 
death    itself,    in    these    ever    memorable    strains     of    heroism, 
Quidni  hoc  infortuni  ?    0   primitive   simplicity,   and  divine   for- 
titude, whither  are  ye  fled  ?    Surely    all   flesh   have    corrupted 
their  way,  and  there  is  none  upright  among  men !  Surely,  sure- 
ly, there  is  no  reason  to  be  scared  at  the  precious  cross  of  our 
dear   and   venerable   Lord   Jesus,  or  to  contrive  or  come   into 
soft  methods   to  please  the  ungodly,  and  screen  us  from  the  ut- 
most weight  of  suffering  that  men  or  devils   can  inflict.     O,  it  is 
honorable,  it  is  ravishing,  to  suffer  for  our  dearest  Lord  !     It  is  a 
small  expression  of  grateful   love  to  our  great  and  good  master, 
in  return  for  his  unmerited,     immense,    condescending  love  to 
us ;  and,  therefore,  if  God  so  please,  let  good  and  bad,  men  and 
devils,  roar  and  rage,  yea,  let  the   whole  creation  come  against 
us,  with   all  its  fury   and  force,  strip  us"  of  every  thing  naturally 
dear  to  mankind,   curse  us,   condemn  us,   tear  us  to  pieces,  or 
grind  us  to  powder,  it  is  sweet,  it  is  lovely,   it  is  precious.     All 
kinds  of  suffering,  and  that  in  the  highest  degree  that  ever  were 


373 

or  can  be  infflicted  by  the  sons  of  men,  are  welcome,  dear  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  for  thee,  and  infinitely  too  little  in  return  for  thy 
love.  The  testimony  of  our  consciences,  enlightened  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  that  *  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  not^  with 
fleshly  wisdom,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  have  had  our  con- 
versation in  the  world,'  is  infinitely  better  and  sweeter    than  the 

applause  of  the  whole  earth.   "  NalU  pallescere  culpa •munus,'''' 

The  apostles  did  more  good  to  mankind,  under  the  greatest 
reproach  and  contempt,  than  xoe  do,  with  all  our  fine  character. 
For  our  good  name,  among  the  ungodly  and  fleshly  Christians 
of  this  adulterous  generation,  gotten  by  carnal  compliances,  is 
to  our  reproach.      For  if  we  did  what  we  should,  and  as  we 

should,  they  would  fall  upon  us  and  beat  us  for  God's  sake. 

"  But  I  must  stop  my  pen,  which,  from  the  fulness  of  my  heart, 
would  write  a  volume  instead  of  a  letter,  and  return  to  observe, 
that  the  aforesaid  heavenly  light  opened  to  my  view  the  Di- 
vine perfections,  both  natural  and  moral,  especially  the  latter, 
arrayed  with  such  superior,  transcendent,  and  inexpres- 
sible charms,  as  made  all  the  beauty  of  men  and  angels,  com- 
pared therewith,  to  appear  as  darkness  and  deformity.  This 
view  of  the  Divine  Excellence,  (the  grand  source  and  origin  of 
being  and  good,)  considered  in  the  Deity  himself,  and  as  ex- 
pressed in  the  works  of  creation,  providence,  and  redemption, 
inspired  my  soul  with  admiration,  reverence,  humility,  and 
love ;  and,  by  its  magnetic  force,  attracted  ardent  aspirations 
of  heart  after  God,  as  my  chief  good,  last  end,  centre,  and  pat- 
tern. /  was  inclined  to  revere  Jehovah^  and  to  love  him  supreme- 
hj,  merely  because  of  his  own  intrinsic  amiahleness,  purity,  and 
worth,  without  any  regard  to  myself  at  all.  I  could  not  hut  love 
him  if  he  had  never  loved  7ne,  or  shown  me  any  kindness,  nor  ever 
would  in  time  to  come.  In  the  mean  while,  I  felt  the 
gentle  violence  of  innumerable,  invaluable,  and  unmer- 
ited benefits  shed  on  me  in  a  rich  and  unwearied  profu- 
sion, together  with  personal  engagements,  and  immortal  hopes, 
superadded  to  the  former  disinterested  attractives.  All  those 
in  conjunction  fired  my  soul,  and  struck  every  spring  of  mo- 
tion. Then  was  I  inclined  afresh  to  turn  my  back  on  all  crea- 
tures, and  embrace  the  fountain  and  origin  of  beauty  and  bles- 
32 


374 

edness,  in  whom  I  clearly  saw  that  complete  happiness  was  lo 
be  found  amidst  all  the  vicissitudes  and  miseries  of  the  present 
life,  and  in  him  alone  ;  so  that  if  there  was  no  future  state  of 
existence  at  all,  no  future  recompense,  sincere  piety  is  its  own 
reward;  yea,  such  a  one  as  all  the  honours,  pleasures,  and  emol- 
uments, of  this  world,  amassed  in  the  possession  of  one  man, 
cannot  balance  or  parallel ;  its  sweets  are  so  sublime,  rational, 
satisfactory,  and  noble." 


No.  IV. 

THOUGHTS  ON  THEOLOGICAL  TRUTH. 

While  in  the  following  cursory  reflections  on  Truth,  it  has 
not  been  my  endeavour  to  follow  the  particular  outline  of  any 
creed  or  confession  of  faith,  so  neither  have  I  taken  any  great 
care,  by  a  laboured  style  and  philosophical  accuracy  of  lan- 
guage, to  shun  the  cavils  of  the  captious,  the  ignorant,  the  base, 
and  the  malicious  which  are  too  little  the  objects  of  ray  regard  to 
induce  much  labour  or  caution. 

With  sincerity  of  heart  I  have  expressed  my  opinions  on  these 
important  subjects,  aware  that  they  are  amenable  to  a  higher 
judgment  than  that  of  man. 

I.  The  book  of  Revelation  and  the  works  of  Nature  are  the 
fountains  of  knowledge ;  from  one  or  the  other  of  these,  we 
derive  whatever  we  know  of  God,  or  of  his  creatures.  We  are 
made  susceptible  of  knowledge  ;  can  perceive,  compare,  and 
judge  ;  which  may  be  termed  exercises  of  reason. 

But,  in  our  present  state,  we  are  not  always  able  to  refer 
every  point  of  knowledge  to  its  proper  fountain.  With  a  fa- 
culty to  perceive,  man  is  placed  in  the  midst  of  a  universe  of 
beings,  whose  natures,  actions,  designs,  and  characters,  it  is  de- 
sirable for  him  to  know ;  but  as  comparatively  few  of  these 
objects  can  come  under  the  inspection  of  his  reason  or  senses, 
he  depends  on  information  or  testimony,  and  this  is  termed  re- 
vealed  or  natural,  as  it  comes  originally  from  God  or  creatures. 


375 

II.  We  are  equally  ignorant  of  the  nature  or  essence  of  mat- 
ter and  mind.  We  perceive  that  they  differ  in  all  their  known 
properties  ;  that  one  is  capable  of  thought,  memory,  love,  ha- 
tred, (fcc,  that  the  other  is  incogitative,  and  inactive.  We  thence 
conclude,  that  they  are  entirely  different  in  their  nature,  and  the 
word  of  God  establishes  that  distinction.  But,  as  we  judge  of 
mind  or  spiritual  beings  through  the  medium  of  material  and  sen- 
sitive organs,  we  are  liable  to  err  in  our  opinions  or  conceptions 
of  them.  It  was  the  remark  of  an  ancient  philosopher,  that  matter 
is  the  shadow  of  spirit.  We  know  enough,  however,  of  both,  to 
establish  the  superior  importance  ^nd  excellence  of  spiritual  na- 
tures. 

III.  "  God  is  an  object  the  most  grand  and  awful  that  ever 
engaged  the  attention  of  creatures."  It  is  impossible  to  know 
how  far  mankind  would  have  discovered  his  being  and  perfec- 
tions by  the  light  of  nature,  without  the  aid  of  special  revelation. 
But  having  revealed  himself,  and  made  his  character  and  attri- 
butes known,  in  a  special  way,  the  light  of  nature  and  the  reason 
of  the  human  mind  do  not  contradict,  but,  in  many  instances,  con- 
firm that  revelation. 

Neither  is  the  idea  of  a  special  revelation  of  God  to  creatures, 
nor  are  any  of  the  truths  revealed,  repugnant  to  the  dictates  of 
reason,  though  some  of  them  are  beyond  its  comprehension. 
Indeed,  reason  is  on  the  side  of  revelation,  not  only  in  the  ag- 
gregate, but  in  the  detail  of  its  doctrines.  The  Mheist,  who 
shall  deny  the  existence  of  God,  will  find  his  own  reason  far 
more  embarrassed  than  the  Christian  who  believes  in  revelation. 
The  order,  harmony,  beauty,  and  magnificence  of  the  universe, 
favours  the  idea  which  God  has  revealed  of  his  being  and  attri- 
butes. Safely  might  we  rest  the  merits  of  the  grand  question  on 
the  comparative  reasonableness  of  the  two  propositions,  viz.  whe- 
ther the  material  universe  is  uncreated  and  eternal,  or  whether 
created  and  governed  by  God,  and  that  God  is  eternal  ? 

The  universe,  as  far  as  we  can  discover,  is  what  it  might  be 
expected  to  be,  under  the  direction  of  such  a  being  as  God  has 
revealed  himself  to  be  ;  but  is  what  could  not  possibly  be,  without 
the  exertion  of  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  in  one 
design,  and  by  one  being. 


376 

There  is  but  one  God.  The  supposition  of  two  Gods  that 
were  omnipotent,  would  be  absurd.  If  their  power  were  equal, 
they  might  so  effectually  counteract  each  other,  that  nothing 
could  be  accomplished,  and  neither  would  be  omnipotent :  but 
were  their  power  unequal,  the  weaker  surely  could  not  be  om- 
nipotent. With  such  absurdities  the  heathen  polytheism  was 
encumbered.  The  surrounding  starry  heavens,  the  mighty  sys- 
tem of  planets  revolving  round  the  sun,  and  turning  on  their 
axes  to  receive  his  beams,  all  in  one  direction,  and  nearly  in  one 
great  plane,  the  changing  seasons  on  this  globe,  the  animal  and 
vegetable  kingdoms,  the  wonderful  mechanism  of  man,  the 
whole  system  of  nature,  in  short,  involving  systems  within  sys- 
tems, with  most  exquisite  connexion,  and  regular  and  endless 
gradations,  all  manifest  unity  of  design,  and  perfection  of  wis- 
dom— all  favour  the  idea  that  there  is  but  one  God,  one  scheme 
of  providence. 

God  is  a  spirit,  and  omnipresent ;  but  were  he  a  material  be- 
ing, either  the  material  worlds  must  be  a  part  of  God,  or  else 
two  bodies  can  occupy  the  same  place,  or  else  he  could  not  be 
omnipresent.  Our  own  reason  and  experience  approve  the  doc- 
trine of  God's  spirituality.  We  perceive  that  matter  is  incapa- 
ble of  perception,  thought,  or  action.  When  at  rest  it  will  never 
move,  but  by  force  ah  extra  ;  when  in  motion,  it  will  never  stop 
till  it  meets  resistance.  Matter  is  a  being  perfectly  passive  ; 
hence,  vis  inerticB,  or  power  of  inactivity,  as  it  is  called,  is 
among  its  primary  qualities.  All  the  phenomena  of  nature 
confirm  this  idea.  Spirit,  or  mind,  which  I  here  use  as  synony- 
mous, is  the  only  agent  in  the  universe.  I  shall  here  take  no 
notice  of  the  idle  controversy  sometimes  raised,  "  How,  or  whe- 
ther a  spirit  can  move  a  material  substance  1"  When  we  per- 
ceive the  greatest  portions  of  matter  moving  in  a  manner  which 
indicate  and  demonstrate  the  most  perfect  wisdom  and  unlimit- 
ed power,  we  cannot  doubt  that  they  are  moved  by  mind.  In- 
deed, when  we  perceive  all  creation  through  her  extensive  de- 
partments, from  the  revolution  of  worlds,  to  the  growing  of 
a  spire  of  grass,  or  the  circulation  of  the  fluids  of  an  insect, 
and  in  all  these  infinitely  varied  and   complicated  movements^ 


377 

evincing  a  uniform  and  astonishing  adaptation  of  means  to  ends, 
we  cannot  doubt  that  there  is  a  God,  that  he  is  a  Spirit,  omni- 
potent and  omnipresent. 

The  object  of  these  remarks  is  not  to  prove  the  being  and 
perfections  of  God,  but  to  show  that  what  God  has  revealed  of 
Himself  is  not  repugnant  and  revolting  to  our  reason. 

God   is   eternal.      We   are    able  to   perceive   that   something 
must  have   existed  from   eternity.     It  may  perhaps  not  be  very 
easy  to  show  why  something  could  not  spring  up  from  nothing, 
and  without   any  cause.     Yet  we^  certainly  know  that  it  could 
not ;  and  there  is  not  a  more  evident  truth,  than  that  if  there 
had  ever  been  a  time  when  nothing  existed,  that  nothing  would 
ever  have  existed.     Hence,  the   world  of  beings,   we  perceive, 
is    full   proof  that   some   being  must    have   been   from   eternity. 
I    shall    not   enter    into    arguments.      Every   reader   knows    in 
what    way   the    hypothesis    of  an    eternal   series    of   dependent 
causes  is  confuted  ;  and   every  reflecting  mind  will  perceive  that 
such  a  hypothesis  explodes  itself.     For  if  you  begin  at   the   fur- 
ther end  of  the  chain,  if  1  may  so   say,  and  come  this  way  every 
successive    link  in  the  whole  chain  must  be  at   an  infinite  distance 
from  us  ;  but  if  you  begin  at  this  end,  and  run   back,  then  every 
successive  link  in  the  whole    chain    must    be    at  an     assignable 
distance   from    us,  of  course,  not    infinite.     Coming   this     way, 
from  tlie  further    end,  they  must  be  all  infinitely  distant  from  us  ; 
— going  the   other  way,   from  this    end,  they    must  be   all    at  a 
measurable  distance.     In    a  continuous   chain,  part  of  the    links 
cannot  be  at  a  finite,  and   the    other  part  at  an  infinite  distance  ; 
for  if  so,  what  would   be  the  distance  of  the    middlemost? 

It  is  sufficiently  clear  to  human  reason,  that  the  eternal, 
spiritual,  omnipotent,  omnipresent  God,  revealed  in  the  scrip- 
tures, must  have  existed  from  eternity ;  and  have  been  the 
creator,  upholder,  and  governor  of  all  worlds,  and  all  creatures. 
"  The  Christian  who  believes  this  must  have  far  less  credulity, 
and  do  less  violence  to  his  reason,"  says  one,  "  than  the  Atheist 
who  denies  it."  Our  strongest  conceptions  of  infinity  are  doubt- 
less attended  with  much  weakness  and  obscurity.  We  ajrive 
at  them  by  considering  a  number  growing  without  end,  or  by 
reflecting  on  boundless  expansion. 
32* 


378 

God  has  infinite  knowledge.  Perhaps  our  best  conception 
of  this  is  derived  from  the  consideration,  that  He  knows  every 
thing  which  can  be  known,  or  is  the  proper  subject  of  know- 
ledge. But  of  the  mode  or  manner  of  his  perception  of  know- 
ledge, we  can  form  no  conception.  It  comprehends  the  past, 
the  present,  and  the  future  :  and  with  Him  there  can  be  neither 
forgetfulness,  recollection,  nor  discovery  of  truth,  which  must 
include  the  idea  of  immutability.  It  is  probable  that  we  derive 
our  notion  of  time,  or  duration,  from  the  succession  of  our 
ideas  : — and  of  space,  from  our  having  bui  one  point  of  per- 
ception. Whether,  therefore,  time  and  space,  as  they  appear 
to  us,  are  not  mere  relations,  which  have  no  foundation  but 
in  our  feeble  and  limited  faculties,  there  is  just  reason  to  doubt. 
If  God  perceive  with  equal  and  invariable  clearness  in  every 
point  in  universal  space,  and  if  with  him  there  be  no  succession 
of  ideas,  "  no  variableness  nor  shadow  of  turning,"  his  views 
of  what  we  call  space  and  duration  will  be  different  from  ours. 

I  hope  this  hypothetical  manner  of  speaking  of  that  glorious 
Being  will  not  be  supposed  to  indicate  feelings  of  irreverence. 
Alas  !  "  He  knows  we  are  but  dust."  However  perfect  know- 
ledge might  change  our  views  of  space  and  duration,  one  thing 
is  certain,  creatures  do  exist,  and  events  do  take  place.  It  is 
certain  the  sun  is  in  one  place,  and  the  moon  in  another ;  and 
it  is  equally  certain,  that  the  creation  was  at  one  time,  and  the 
day   of  judgment   will  be  at    another. 

God  is  holy.  By  this,  in  general,  is  intended  his  moral  excel- 
lence, goodness,  and  purity  of  character.  In  him  is  infinite  wi  s- 
dom,  justice,  goodness,  amiableness  of  character.  God  is  love. 
In  liis  work  of  creation,  providence,  and  redemption,  he  has 
evinced  this  character  ;  and  will  continue  so  to  do,  *o  all 
eternity. 

Those  qualities  or  perfections  of  the  Divine  Being,  which 
are  proper  and  necessary  to  his  nature  and  character,  are  called 
attributes ;  such  as,  eternity,  self-existence,  spirituality,  omni- 
potence, omniscience,  omnipresence,  immutability — which  not 
being  supposed  to  depend  on  the  divine  will,  are  called  natural 
attributes.  But  on  the  contrary,  holiness,  justice,  goodness, 
truth,  love,  and  mercy,  as  they  may  be  said  to  depend  on  the 


S79 

divine  will,  are  denominated  moral  attributes.  It  is  an  infelicity 
in  our  language,  that  those  terms  by  which  we  express  the  moral 
attributes  of  God  are  not  definite  with  regard  to  each  other. 
Thus,  holiness  and  goodness  are  terms  of  wide  import,  and  go 
more  or  less  into  the  nature  of  every  moral  excellence :  mercy  is 
rather  an  act  than  an  attribute  ;  and  truth,  which  is  a  term  gener- 
ally used  in  reference  to  language,  is  but  the  correspondence  of  a 
declaration  with  a  fact ;  or,  as  Dr.  Watts  observes,  "  the  proper 
joining  or  disjoining  of  signs." 

IV.  "  And  God  said.  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after 
our  likeness." — As  this  must  have  allusion  to  the  soul  of  man, 
and  not  his  body,  we  are  authorized  to  believe  that  man,  as  a 
moral  and  intellectual  being,  exhibits  some  likeness  of  his  Cre- 
ator, and  that,  farther  than  what  consists  merely  in  holiness :  in 
short,  that  God  is  an  infinitely  great  intelligent  being,  having 
an  understanding  and  will,  and  every  thing  necessary  to  constitute 
an  almighty,  infinitely  wise,  and  holy  moral  agent.  God  has 
knowledge ;  for  the  scripture  declares,  that  "  he  is  a  God  of 
knowledge,  and  by  him  actions  are  weighed."  He  has  love ; 
"  For  the  Lord  loveth  the  righteous."  He  has  approbation  and 
aversion  ;  "  For  Jacob  have  I  loved,  but  Esau  have  I  hated."  He 
has  anger ;  for  "  He  is  angry  with  the  wicked  every  day."  We 
are  not  to  understand,  however,  that  he  is  agitated  with  the  sud- 
den, vain,  and  fleeting  passions  of  men.  "  His  ways  are  above 
our  ways." 

I  leave  it  for  the  reader  to  judge  for  himself,  whether  the  union 
of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in  Christ  favours  the  idea  of  an 
intellectual  and  moral  similarity,  or  resemblance,  between  God  and 
man,  considered  as  a  holy  creature. 

V.  Motive,  means,  and  end,  are,  in  our  idea,  inseparable  from 
the  conduct  of  an  intelligent  agent.  There  are  certain  consi- 
derations which  must  induce  us  to  undertake  a  work ;  we  use 
a  course  of  means  for  its  accomplishment ;  we  have  an  end  in 
view:  commonly,  indeed,  we  have  several  ends  or  purposes 
to  answer,  but  always  a  chief  end.  And  it  may  be  observed, 
that  every  single  act  has  its  motive  and  end,  as  well  as  the 
aggregate  of  the  labour  employed  in  an  undertaking.  And  in 
the  building  of  a  tower    or    palace,    the  owner,  the    principal 


380 

builder  or  engineer,  and  the  common  labourer,  may  all  have 
different  motives  and  ends  ;  though  at  last  all  of  them  may 
centre  in  one  great  ultimate  end. 

It  is  frequently,  and,  perhaps,  not  improperly  said,  that  God 
is  self-moved,  in  his  great  work.  The  meaning  of  this  *must  be, 
that  his  own  infinite  nature  and  perfections  furnish  him  with  the 
motives  of  his  conduct.  Since  the  motive  to  do  a  work  must  be 
prior  to  the  consideration  of  that  work,  as  done,  the  motives  of 
the  Creator  must  have  arisen  from  something  prior  to  the  creation 
itself.  Before  a  thing  exists,  the  question  to  be  considered  is, 
whether  it  had  better  exist  or  not  ;  in  agitating  which  question, 
the  labour  or  expense  of  rearing  and  supporting  it  are  to  be 
balanced  against  the  benefits  which  will  accrue  from  it,  when 
made.  Whichever  way  this  question  may  be  decided,  it  will 
certainly  turn  and  be  determined  in  view  of  interests  and  mo- 
tives extrinsical  to  the  thing  in  question.  When  infinite  wis- 
dom agitated  the  question,  whether  the  universe  of  worlds  and 
creatures  should  exist,  and  perceived  an  end  to  be  answered  by 
it  worthy  of  God,  infinite  goodness  prompted  to  the  exertion 
of  that  power  by  which  creation  arose  into  being.  >Thence  it 
has  been  thought  proper  to  say,  that  God,  moved  by  his  good- 
ness, created  the  world  for  his  own  glory.  Perfect  wisdom  can 
give  being  to  nothing,  but  in  view  of  its  final  cause,  or  end, 
which  always  looks  at  something  beyond  the  tiling  itself. 
Wherefore,  the  final  cause,  or  ultimate  end  of  all  creatures, 
comprising  God's  whole  kingdom,  must  regard  something  be- 
yond that  kingdom,  or  distinct  from  it — something  worthy  of 
the  infinite  Jehovah  ;  and  that  must  he  his  own  honour  and 
glory. 

VI.  Every  intelligent  agent  acts  with  design.  Whatever  God 
does,  every  exertion  of  his  agency,  from  the  creation  of  crea- 
tures to  all  eternity,  he  designed  or  decreed  from  all  eternity. 
This  is  evident  from  the  consideration  of  his  knowledge  and 
immutability.  He  has  perfect,  unchangeable  knowledge  of  all 
things  past,  present,  and  to  come.  All  events  are  decreed. 
*'  The  decrees  of  God  are  his  eternal  purpose — whereby,  for 
his  own  glory,  he  hath  foreordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass.'^ 
Every  event,  connected  with  his  agency,  or  the  subject  of  his 


381 

foreknowledge,  must,  of  necessity,  be  decreed.  To  say  nothing 
of  Divine  agency  in  events,  God's  foreknowledge  is  perfect  and 
infallible.  He  knows  how  every  event  will  be,  before,  as  well 
as  after  its  occurrence.  This  idea  is  necessary  to  the  support 
of  his  omniscience. 

The  supposition  of  God's  decrees  can,  in  no  degree,  endan- 
ger the  freedom  or  privileges  of  his  creatures.  If  God  can  cre- 
ate and  govern  in  the  best  manner,  he  can  decree  so  to  do.  Let 
it  be  supposed  that  a  being  of  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and 
goodness,  had  created,  and  was  employed  in  governing,  a  world 
of  creatures  without  any  previous  decree.  Superadding  the  idea, 
that  he  had  determined  to  do  what  is  doing,  from  eternity,  in 
that  world,  would  neither  add  to,  nor  take  from,  the  condition 
of  those  creatures.  What  God  does,  in  the  universe,  is  the  dic- 
tate of  infinite  wisdom  ;  his  decree  to  do  it  is  but  the  predeter- 
mination of  that  same  wisdom,  which  eternally  pre-existed  his 
acts. 

The  free  actions  of  creatures  are  as  properly  the  subjects  of 
a  decree,  as  the  falling  a  tree,  or  the  rising  of  the  sun.  This 
is  established  by  the  express  testimony  of  Scripture.  Indeed, 
the  decrees  of  God  principally  relate  to  the  moral  conduct  of 
creatures.  I  need  only  say,  that  innumerable  events  are  de- 
clared in  the  word  of  God,  as  decreed,  which  immediately 
and  wholly  concern  the  free  actions  of  creatures.  If  God  de- 
creed that  the  city  of  London  should  this  day  be  what  it  is, 
then  he  decreed  all  the  steps  and  causes  of  its  progress  to  its 
present  state.  If  he  decreed  the  crucifixion  of  Christ,  then  he 
decreed  how,  by  whom,  and  for  what  cause  it  should  be  done. 

The  decrees  of  God  in'  no  degree  interfere  with  the  freedom 
and  accountability  of  creatures.  Hence,  one  moral  action  is  as 
much  the  subject  of  a  decree  as  another. 

The  distinction  set  up,  between  foreknowledge  and  de- 
crees, is  useless  and  groundless,  as  relates  to  this  subject ; 
the  foreknowledge  of  God  is  infallible.  But  that  infal- 
libility must  arise  from  the  certainty  of  the  thing  fore- 
known. Now,  if  a  future  event  is  certain,  as  to  the  doc- 
trine of  liberty,  contingency,  &lc.  it  may  as  well  be  render- 
ed certain  by  a  Divine   decree,   as  by  any  other  influence   or 


382 

connexion.  But  what  certainty  can  any  future  event  have  but  by 
its  connexion  with  his  determination  who  "  worketh  all  things 
after  the  counsels  of  his  own  will  ?" 

The  decrees  of  God  are  infinitely  just,  wise,  and  good. 
Therefore  it  is  that  they  are  carried  perfectly  into  effect. 
Were  the  case  supposable,  or  possible,  which  it  is  not,  that  it 
should  now  be  discovered  by  the  great  Ruler,  that  something 
he  had  decreed  had  better  not  take  place,  a  change  would 
doubtless  be  made,  notwithstanding  the  decree,  and  that  thing 
omitted.  The  same,  however,  which  infinite  Wisdom  from  all 
eternity  saw  best,  it  now  sees  best.  Let  it  be  our  language, 
"  Thy  will  be  done." 

VII.  The  decrees  of  God  are  his  previous  determination  to 
do  what  he  has  done,  and  will  do,  and  may  be  considered  as 
the  plan  of  creation,  providence,  and  redemption,  formed  in 
the  eternal  and  unchanging  counsels  of  God.  Of  these  I  shall 
briefly  speak. 

CREATION. 

For  our  knowledge  of  the  work  of  creation  we  depend  whol- 
ly on  special  revelation ;  and  the  idea  that  matter  in  a  chaotic 
or  organic  state,  long  pre-existed  the  creation,  seems  to  be 
without  foundation  in  the  word  of  God.  If  any  general  infer- 
ences can  be  drawn  from  the  discoveries  of  geologists,  they 
favour  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation  ;  in  which  it  is  de- 
clared that  God  created  the  universe  of  worlds,  and  angels,  and 
men,  and  animals.  The  time  of  the  creation  of  angels  is  not 
specified  in  the  Mosaic  history.  Some  eminent  writers,  how- 
ever, think  that  they  were  created  but  a  little  before  the  crea- 
tion of  Adam.  But  to  me,  it  seems  probable,  that  they  must 
have  remainded  awhile  in  their  state  of  innocence  and  glory,  nor 
is  it  certain  or  probable  that  their  seduction  of  our  first  parents 
were  among  the  first  acts  of  their  rebellion,  or  very  soon  after 
their  fall.  The  account  given  of  them,  favours  the  supposition 
that  they  had  great  knowledge  and  experience;  nor  is  there 
any  certain  evidence  that  they  had  not  existed  for  what  we 
might  term  thousands  of  years  or  ages  before  the  creation  of 
man. 


383 

Men  and  angels  were  created  moral  agents,  pure  and  holy, 
but  not  immutable.  A  moral  agent  is  a  being  capable  of  volun- 
tary  action.  A  voluntary  action  is  what  I  mean  by  a  volition^ 
and  by  a  volition  I  mean  an  act  of  will.  No  higher  conception 
of  freedom  of  will  can  be  formed  than  what  a  man  may  derive 
from  his  own  experience,  when  two  objects  of  choice  are  set 
before  him.  These  may  be  termed  his  motives  ;  and  that  ob- 
ject, which,  all  things  considered,  presents  the  greatest  good, 
may  be  called  the  ruling  motive,  and  towards  that  he  will  in- 
cline. Hence,  it  is  said  by  some,  that  the  will  will  follow  the 
strongest  motive ;  by  others,  that  it  always  is  as  the  greatest 
apparent  or  present  good. 

It  is  objected,  that  the  will  thus  governed  by  motives,  cannot 
be  free.  Whoever  will  point  out  a  constitution  of  will,  embra- 
cing more  freedom,  and  better  to  answer  the  purpose  of  a  ra- 
tional being,  will  deserve  the  thanks  of  mankind.  No  one,  I 
trust,  will  pretend  that  the  will  can  act  without  any  motive  ; 
there  then  remains  but  one  of  two  grounds  to  be  taken.  The 
will  must  follow  either  the  stronger  or  weaker  motive.  A  piece 
of  gold  and  of  lead  are  laid  before  a  man  ;  if  he  can  contrive  to 
make  himself  prefer  the  lead  to  the  gold,  he  must  have  an  ex- 
traordinary degree  of  freedom,  and  moral  power. 

The  reader  who  would  gain  light  and  information  on  this  sub- 
ject, may  consult  "  Edwards  on  the  Will,"  a  work  which  did 
honour  not  only  to  Edwards  himself,  but  to  the  country  in 
which  he  was  born — a  work  which  cannot  be  answered,  nor  at- 
tentively read  without  conviction. 

VIII.  No  reason  can  be  offered  against  the  belief  that  God 
formed  the  universe  of  creatures  out  of  nothing  ;  that  is,  that 
they  were  not  made  out  of  any  pre-existing  material.  Nor  is 
there  any  foundation  in  Scripture  for  believing  that  intelligent 
creatures  are  rays,  emanations,  or  parts,  of  the  Deity. 

PROVIDENCE. 

IX.  By  the  providence  of  God,  we  are  to  understand  his  power, 
justice,  goodness,  and  mercy,  exerted  in  preserving  and  govern- 
ing his  creatures.     His  providence   is  infinitely  wise,  all-power- 


384       . 

ful,  constant,  universal,  and  eternal.  It  is  believed  by  some,  that 
a  power  equal  to  that  exerted  in  creating,  is  constantly  necessa- 
ry for  the  preservation  of  whatever  is  created  ;  of  course,  that 
preservation  is  a  kind  of  constant  creation.  Our  knowledge  in- 
deed, is  not  sufficient  to  determine  whether  matter  or  spirit, 
when  once  brought  into  being,  would  continue  by  virtue  of  its 
own  inherent  nature  and  powers,  or  whether  its  annihilation 
would  be  the  immediate  consequence  of  an  entire  withdraw- 
ment  of  preserving  power.  But  as  we  are  taught  in  the  scrip- 
tures, that  every  thing  in  the  universe,  of  beauty,  order,  con- 
sistency or  happiness ;  that  all  life,  both  natural  and  spiritual, 
depends  on  the  preserving  power  of  God,  we  are,  perhaps,  justi- 
fied in  the  conclusion,  that  created  existence  itself  depends  for 
its  continuance  on  preserving  power  and  goodness. 

Divine  providence  is  not  only  general  and  universal,  but  par- 
ticular and  constant — extending  not  only  to  angels,  but  to  in- 
sects— not  only  to  systems  of  worlds,  but  to  every  particle  of 
matter.  When  we  consider  that  the  omnipotent  God  is  every 
where  present,  and  can  exert  his  power,  in  all  places,  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  so  great  a  scheme  of  providence  is  no 
burden  to  him  ;  and  can  never,  in  one  instance,  for  a  moment, , 
fail  in  its  operation,  whether  it  be  to  uphold,  to  prosper,  to  re- 
ward, or  punish. 

The  operation,  with  such  amazing  uniformity,  of  the  un- 
searchable powers  and  principles  of  nature,  the  great  laws  of 
the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms,  the  regularity  and  gran- 
deur of  the  heavenly  motions,  all  evince  the  presence  [and  en- 
ergies of  a  universal  providence.  With  equal  clearness  may 
the  same  be  discerned  in  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations,  and,  in 
fact,  in  the  various  concerns  of  human  life. 

Still  more  interesting  and  amazing  would  appear  the  opera- 
tions of  divine  providence  in  sustaining  intellectual  and  spiritual 
natures.  But  those  departments  lie  hidden  from  human  in- 
spection. The  greatest  angels  that  stand  around  his  throne  are 
as  dependent  on  his  preserving  goodness  as  the  insects  of  a 
summer  day.  The  constitution  of  their  powers,  and  the  laws 
of  operation  pervading  their  intellectual  and  moral  faculties,  are 
his  work. 


385 


REDEMPTION. 

X.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  great  agent  in  the  work  of  redemption, 
and  is  the  prominent  personage  in  the  New  Testament.  He  is 
the  immediate  author  and  medium,  as  well  as  the  object  of  special 
revelation  ;  yet  not  without  the  manifestation  and  co-operation 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  Jesus  Christ  the  di- 
vine and  human  natures  are  united.  In  liis  divine  nature  he  was 
God,  the  second  person  in  the  adorable  Trinity,  equal  with  the 
Father.  In  his  human  nature,  he  was  the  son  of  Mary  by  mi- 
raculous generation.  He  lived  on  earth  in  a  state  of  humiliation, 
yielded  a  perfect  obedience  to  the  law  of  God,  and  suffered 
death  on  the  cross  as  a  propitiation  for  sin  ;  he  rose  from  the 
dead,  ascended  upon  high,  and  is  exalted  to  be  head  over  all 
things  to  the  church.  He  is  called  the  Son  of  God  in  refer- 
ence to  his    humanity. 

XI.  The  Gospel  inculcates  the  following  doctrine,  or  impor- 
tant articles  of  truth,  viz.  there  is  one  God  in  three  Persons 
"  the  Father,  the  word,  and  the  holy  ghost."  This  mysteri- 
ous and  sublime  truth,  against  which  Deists  have  objected  and 
blasphemed,  is  above  our  comprehension,  though  in  no  sense 
repugnant  to  our  reason.  It  is  our  duty  to  confess  our  ignorance, 
and  humbly  to  adore  God,  whom  we  cannot  comprehend.  The 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  implies  more  than  merely  three  dispen- 
sations, or  modes  of  manifestation  of  one  person,  which  amounts 
to  Unitarianism  :  and  yet  it  does  not  establish  the  idea  of  three 
separate  and  distinct  deities,  which  would  be  Tritheism.  The 
scripture  conveys  the  idea,  that  each  person  of  the  Trinity  holds 
the  whole  and  entire  divine  nature  and  perfections. 

This  doctrine  rests  on  broader  evidence  than  the  simple  testi- 
mony of  scripture  itself.  It  was  held  by  the  primitive  church, 
and  has  been  an  arficle  of  the  Christian  faith  in  all  subsequent 
limes.  By  broader  evidence  I  mean,  that  it  has  been  approved 
and  tested  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  every  age  ;  by  its  influence 
on  the  prosperity  of  the  church,  and  in  the  reformation  of  man- 
kind :  in  short,  by  the  promotion  of  holiness  among  men,  than 
which  I  know  of  no  greater  evidence  of  the  purity  of  gospel 
doctrine. 

33 


386 

XII.  Our  first  parents  were  created  pure  and  holy,  but  they 
fell  from  that  state,  rebelled  against  God,  and  became  sinful, 
miserable,  and  mortal.  "  And  as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into 
the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  so  death  hath  passed  upon  all  men, 
for  that  all  have  sinned."  "  The  phrase  original  sin,''''  says 
Calvin,  "  is  not  found  in  the  scriptures,  but  was  invented  by 
Augustine."  Human  nature  was  corrupted  in  Adam,  and  all 
that  we  have  derived  from  him,  partakes  of  that  corruption. 
The  federal  headship  of  Adam  to  his  posterity,  constitutes  no 
relation  between  them  that  is  inconsistent  with  that  great  law 
of  nature,  which  is  universally  known,  viz.  that  every  creature 
propagated  in  a  series  of  generations,  shall  partake  of  the  na- 
ture of  its  progenitors.  The  guilt  of  Adam's  sin  is  not  imput- 
ed to  his  posterity,  independently  of  their  own  moral  conduct, 
as  it  would  be  evidently  subversive  of  all  the  principles  of  jus- 
tice, to  condemn  a  man  for  a  sin,  in  which  he  had  no  will,  no 
consciousness,  and  which  was  committed  before  he  existed. 

The  imputation  of  sin  and  of  holiness  are  not  parallel  cases ; 
it  is  in  the  nature  of  benignity  and  grace  to  confer  favour  beyond 
merit,  but  contrary  to  the  nature  of  justice  to  inflict  punishment 
beyond  desert. 

XIII.  Human  nature  is  depraved,  but  that  depravity  is  of  the 
moral  kind  and  relates  principally  to  the  heart,  in  which  there 
is  no  degree  of  holiness — no  true  love  to  God.  Of  course,  moral 
depravity  is  properly  said  to  be  total.  Yet  man,  in  a  fallen  state,  is 
no  less  a  moral  agent  ;  his  actions  are  no  less  free  and  accounta- 
ble than  in  a  holy  state :  holiness  is  as  truly  required  of  him. 
Nor  is  there  any  ^impediment  to  his  performing  his  duty  but  what 
lies  in  a  voluntary  disinclination  to  do  it.  Wherefore,  the  word 
of  God  commands  him  to  break  off  his  sins  by  righteousness,  and 
turn  to  the  Lord. 

XIV.  Regeneration  is  a  change  of  heart,  wrought  by  the 
operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  and  without  this  change  of  heart 
a  man  cannot  be  saved  ;  for  "  except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  But  as  sin  does  not  con- 
sist in  ignorance,  or  error  of  the  understanding,  though  it  may 
occasion  ignorance,  by  withdrawing  the  mind  from  spiritual 
things,    so  the   new   birth   is    not    produced  by  an    increase  of 


387 

knowledge,  but  is  the  cause  of  such  increase.  Enmity  to  God 
constitutes  the  nature  of  sin ;  for  "  sin  is  a  transgression  of  the 
law"  of  God,  and  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  Therefore, 
the  great  change  of  heart  necessary  to  all  sinners,  is  from  enmity 
to  love. 

XV.  The  sinner  is  justified  by  faith  in  Christ.  Justifying  faith 
is  the  soul's  belief  in,  and  acceptance  of,  Christ  as  the  Saviour. 
In  the  plan  of  the  gospel,  it  appears  that  the  pardon  of  sin  is  to 
be  obtained  by  the  propitiation,  or  atonement,  made  by  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  Redeemer  in  his  glory,  fulness,  and  grace,  is  exhibited 
in  the  gospel :  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  shines  in  the  heavens  : 
his  powers,  perfections,  and  disposition,  are  made  known  in  a 
proclamation  of  grace,  that  whoever  will  receive  him  as  a  Sa- 
viour, shall  be  pardoned,  justified,  and  saved.  Under  this  light, 
the  sinner  wants  nothing  but  a  heart  to  love  the  Saviour,  in 
order  to  say,  with  Thomas,  "  My  Lord,  and  my  God."  Saving 
faith  is  a  clear  apprehension  of  Christ  in  his  nature,  character, 
and  ofiices,  accompanied  with  love  to  Christ.  But  love  to 
Christ  is  not  caused  by  faith,  or  by  any  intellectual  apprehen- 
sion of  Christ.  Nothing  is  holiness  but  love,  and  holiness  goes 
into  the  first  exercise  of  the  renewed  heart  :  in  fact,  a  saving 
change  of  heart  is  a  change  from  sin  to  holiness,  from  hatred  to 
love. 

That   process  of  mind  in   any  one,    which  first  imbibes    a  no- 
tion that  Christ  died  for  him,  and   will    save   him,  on  account  of 
which  he  begins    to   love  Christ,  I    denominate  the    operation  of 
selfishness,  and   is   no    evidence  of  saving  grace.     The  love  of 
Christ  certainly    merits,    and  will   meet   with,   a   return   of  love 
from  every  good    or   holy    heart.     But    that   love,   and   all   such 
love,  is    merely  gratitude,  and  goes   not   into    the   true  nature  ol 
h  oliness.     "  If  ye  love  them  that   love   you,   what  thank  have 
ye?     Do  not  even   sinners  love  those   that   love    them?"     The 
lov©  I  may  feel  for   any  being  who  does,   or  will   do,    me   good, 
on  that  account,  is  the  love  of  my  own  interest  ;  for  had    he  done 
me  none  of  that  good,  he  would    have  received  none  of  that  love 
from  me. 

Holy  love  is  a  principle  far  above   gratitude.     The  Christian 


388 

certainly  feels  as  much  gratitude,  as  much  thankfulness,  as  any 
one ;  but  he  feels  a  love  far  above  gratitude.  Holy  love  can 
embrace  enemies  as  well  as  friends,  where  surely  there  is  no 
gratitude.  Holy  love  is  due  to  God  from  creatures  to  whom  he 
never  will  do  good  ;  even  from  fallen  angels,  and  from  all  the 
wicked.  The  true  and  grand  reason  and  motive  of  supreme 
love  to  God,  is  the  infinite  loveliness  and  beauty  of  his  nature 
and  character,  which,  in  various  ways,  he  has  manifested  to  his 
creatures. 

There  are  two  things  in  religion,  which,  variously  modified, 
make  up  its  several  parts.  I  mean  knowledge  and  love.  I  here 
say  nothing  of  divine  agency,  which  is  certainly  employed  in 
this  important  matter.  As  far  as  mere  intellect  is  concerned,  a 
man  may  believe  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.  Some  "  sin  wilfully  after  having  received  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth" — "  crucify  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and  put  him  to 
open  shame."  Christ  said  to  the  Jews,  "  Ye  have  both  seen  and 
hated  both  me  and  my  Father." 

Faith  is,  by  some  writers,  termed  a  spiritual  exercise,  and 
said  to  spring  from  spiritual  life.  The  term  spiritual  is  often 
used  in  these  cases  without  either  true  or  definite  import  ;  and 
is  always  so  used,  when  used  to  signify  something  which  can 
neither  be  described,  nor  conceived  of.  Nothing  can  be  found 
in  religion  higher,  purer,  more  sacred  or  divine,  than  holiness, 
of  which  the  grand  element  is  love  to  God.  "  For  he  that  dwel- 
leth  ia  love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him  ;"  and  "  we  know" 
saith  the  apostle  John,  "  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto 
life,  because  we  love  the  brethren." 

Christ  having  made  propitiation  for  sin,  it  is  consistent  with 
Divine  justice  to  pardon  and  justify  the  sinner,  who  shall  em- 
brace him  by  faith.  But  faith  here  implies  love  and  obedience. 
The  transfer  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ  to  the  believer,  if 
it  conveys  more  than  that  the  sinner  derives  the  benefit  of  par- 
don and  justification  by  means  of  Christ's  work,  is  without  foun- 
dation. 

XVI.  The  atonement  of  Christ  is  a  propitiation  made  "  for 
the  sins  of  the   whole  world,"  by  his  sufferings  and  death,    en 


389 

account  of  which,  pardon,  justification,  and  eternal  life,  are  free- 
ly otfered  to  every  sinner;  and  all  those,  who  embrace  Christ 
by  faith,   and   yield  obedience    to  his    gospel,     shall   be   saved. 

XVII.  Every  sinner,  left  to  pursue  his  native  dispositions  of 
heart,  would  reject  salvation.  The  same  voluntary  enmity  of 
heart  to  God  and  holiness,  which  constitutes  the  depravity  of  all 
mankind,  would  induce  them  to  reject  Christ.  The  human 
heart  is  as  averse  to  the  mercy  as  to  the  justice  of  God.  The 
mercy  of  God  is  as  holy  as  his  justice,  and  the  plan  of  salvation 
by  Christ,  will  as  truly  illustrate  the  perfection  and  glory  ot 
Divine  justice,  as  the  everlasting  punishment  of  the  wicked. 
Knowing,  therefore,  that  all  men  would  reject  salvation,  God 
determined,  or  decreed,  to  save  a  part  of  the  human  race,  by  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  they  are  called,  in  Scripture,  "  the  elect  of  God ;"" 
and  them,  by  the  influence  of  his  Spirit,  he  will  regenerate,  and 
sanctify,  and  gather  into  his  heavenly  kingdom. 

God's  decree  of  election  was  a  sovereign  act  of  his  grace, 
and  was  not  founded  in  his  foreknowledge  of  their  obedience. 
But,  according  to  the  common  acceptation  of  language,  we  can 
scarcely  use  the  phrase,  "  sovereign  act,"  without  danger  ot 
conveying  a  wrong  idea  ;  for,  in  its  application  to  the  actions 
of  men,  it  conveys  the  idea  of  arbitrariness  without  reason. 
God  is  the  only  being  qualified  for  absolue  sovereignty.  As 
he  has  infinite  power  to  do  whatever  his  infinite  wisdom  and 
goodness  shall  dictate,  there  is  no  possibiHty  that  his  will  can  be 
unjust,  arbitrary,  rash,  or  capricious.  It  is  proper  for  him  to 
say,  "  I  will  have  mercy  on  whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  I 
will  have  compassion  on  whom  1  will  have  compassion." 

Those  acts  of  God,  which  are  called  sovereign  acts,  are  such 
as  infinite  goodness  approves,  and  are,  no  doubt,  grounded  on 
adequate  reasons.  But  God  has  not  made  known  the  particu- 
lar reasons  why,  in  his  election  to  eternal  life,  one  man  is  taken 
and  another  left.  The  Arminian  ought  to  be  reminded  that  his 
controversy,  in  strictness,  is  not  with  the  doctrine  of  election,  as 
here  stated,  but  with  a  point  much  nearer  home,  viz.  with  the 
idea  that  the  salvation  of  the  sinner  turns  not  on  his  own  free 
act,  but  on  the  eflicaeious  grace  of  GocJ,  which  saves  him.  For 
if  his   salvation  is  not  of  his  own  free   act,  but  of  the   grace  of 

33^ 


390 

God,  it  would  have  been  different  from  what  it  is,  as  I  said 
above,  had  there  been  no  previous  decree,  provided  the  same 
wisdom  and  goodness  governed.  Nothing  takes  place  from  the 
mere  arbitrary  consideration  of  its  having  been  decreed. 

The  opposition  of  many  to  the  doctrine  of  decrees,  and  of 
course  to  election,  arises  solely  from  a  misunderstanding  of 
them.  They  regarded  it  in  the  same  light  as  though  every  event 
was  taking  place  under  the  resistless  influence  and  sway 
of  a  blind,  omnipotent  fate ;  that  things  are  as  they  are 
for  no  reason  but  because  immutably  decreed.  Never  was  an 
apprehension  more  false.  They  cannot  bear  the  idea  that  every 
thing  was  appointed  from  all  eternity;  they  seem  to  want  ti> 
reserve  the  power  of  altering  matters,  from  day  to  day,  as  new 
emergencies  may  arise,  and  the  great  Ruler  may  get  better 
light,  having  profited  by  experience.  "  Thou  thoughtest  I  was 
altogether  such  an  one  as  thyself."  When  men  decree  before- 
hand, changes  are  frequently  necessary ;  but  when  eternal  wis- 
dom appoints,  the  same  reasons  which  induced  the  appoint- 
ment, will  certainly  induce,  and  justify,  its  execution.  If  sin- 
ners are  saved  by  an  act  of  Divine  grace,  the  previous  deter- 
mination to  save  them  does  not  alter  the  case,  and,  as  I  said, 
the  same  wisdom  and  goodness  governing,  would  do  the  same 
thing,  had  it  not  been  before  determined. 

Be  not  deceived  ;  be  not  alarmed,  lest  in  this  wide  scene  of 
events,  numerous,  fleeting,  and  successive,  as  the  waves  of  the 
sea,  the  purposes  of  God  should  fail  in  their  accomplishment, 
be  unequal  in  their  operation,  or  in  their  result  should  impair 
the  rights  of  an  individual.  "  The  judge  of  all  the  earth  will 
do  right."  With  steady  eye,  and  perfect  clearness,  he  per- 
ceives all  creatures  ;  with  almighty  power  he  rules  all  worlds, 
and  with  a  providence  all-wise  and  benevolent,  he  brings  order 
out  of  confusion,  light  out  of  darkness,  and  the  day-spring  out 
of  the  shadow  of  death. 

The  election  of  some  to  eternal  life,  is  no  bar  in  the  way  of 
those  not  elected.  And  a  decree  of  reprobation  can  mean 
nothing  more  than  a  determination  not  to  save  ;  and  as  it  is  pos- 
terior to  rejection  of  salvation,  and  grounded  on  it,  it  indicates 
the  doctrines  of  a  full  atonement,  free  offers  of  mercy,  and  every 


391 

thing  implied  in  a  state  of  probation.  For  it  must  always  be 
remembered  that  election  is  no  more  from  eternity  than  every 
other  part  of  the  Divine  plan,  such  as  propitiation,  offers  of 
mercy,  probation,  and   redemption. 

XVIII.  The  elect  of  Christ  shall  persevere  in  holiness,  or 
sanctification,  and  be  gathered  into  the  kingdom  of  glory.  This, 
however,  depends  on  the  purpose  and  promise  of  God,  and 
not  on  the  strength  and  immutability  of  Christian  virtue. 
Those  who  appear  to  begin  a  religious  life,  and,  at  length,  fall 
from  their  professions  and  hopes,  and  die  in  a  state  of  impeni- 
tence, were  never  born  again.  But  every  true  Christian  is 
born  of  the  spirit,  and  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith 
unto  salvation  ;  and  though  faith  is  the  gift  of  God,  yet  every 
man  should  be  encouraged  in  his  endeavors  after  salvation. 
No  man  can  have  any  evidence  of  his  good  state,  but  as  he 
finds  himself  conformed  in  temper  and  conduct  to  the  laws  of 
Christ.  Those  who  have  no  evidence  of  their  own  piety 
should  abstain  from  every  sinful  act,  and  be  in  the  way,  and 
in  the  use  of  the  means  of  grace. 

The  doctrine  of  perseverance,  as  here  stated,  naturally  fol- 
lows, and  flows  from  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  and  justifica- 
tion, as  stated  above.  If  men  turn  to  God  and  holiness  of  their 
own  free  will,  without  the  special  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  if 
they  are  justified  by  their  good  works,  then  it  would  not  be 
wonderful  if   they  should  fall    from  grace. 

Every  christian  should  labour  to  persevere  in  faith  and  good 
works,  and  every  man  should  labour  to  be  a  Christian.  "  Strive 
to  enter  in  at  the  straight  gate."  Strive  to  "  make  your  calling 
and  election  sure."  *'  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 
unrighteous  man  his  thoughts."  "  Break  off  your  sins  by 
righteousness." 

XIX.  There  will  be  a  general  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
*'  All  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  come  forth."  "  Now,"  saith  St.  Paul,  "  hath  Christ 
risen  from  the  dead,  and  become  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept." 
The  first  fruhs  are  a  specimen  of  the  cross  that  is  to  follow. 
Christ's  body  rose  from  the  dead.  "  A  spirit,"  saith  he  to  his  disci- 
ples, "  hath  not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye  see  me  have."  His  body  was 


392 

visible,  tangible,  and  real.  He  ate,  and  probably  drank.  If 
this  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  specimen  of  the  resurrection,  the  true 
and  real  bodies  of  mankind  will  rise  ;  but  changed,  and  made 
indestructible  and  immortal. 

Some  entomologists  are  of  opinion,  that  the  natural  history 
of  insects  furnishes  an  argument  in  favour  of  the  resurrection^ 
The  changes  they  undergo  are  very  curious  and  surprising. 
The  bright  and  splendid  butterfly,  which  breaks  forth  from  the 
carcass  of  a  lifeless  and  corrupted,  a  shapeless  and  loathsome 
worm,  is  as  far  beyond  all  human  comprehension  as  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead  ;  and  as  truly  displays  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  Divine  providence,  though   on  a  smaller  scale. 

The  resurrection  of  the  body,  though  a  doctrine  of  revela- 
tion, yet  seems  to  correspond  with  the  dignity  of  rational  na- 
tures, and  the  high  destinies  of  an  immortal  creatuie.  Man  ap- 
pears to  be  ultimately  designed  for  immortality,  in  his  entire  na- 
ture. Had  he  never  fallen,  he  would  never  have  tasted  death. 
"  But  since  by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead."  It  will  be  to  the  eternal  honour  of  the 
Redeemer  tnat  he  conquered  death,  and  rescued  the  body  from 
the  grave.  In  that  he  made  the  resurrection  complete,  and 
raised  the  bodies  of  the  whole  race,  whose  nature  he  had  assu. 
med,  he    completed  the  perfection  and  glory  of  his  triumph. 

"  Break  off  your  tears,  ye  saints,  and  tell 
How  high  your  great  Deliverer  reigns  ; 

Sing  how  he  spoil'd  the  hosts  of  hell, 
And  led  the  monster  death  in  chains." 

From  the  consideration  of  the  resurrection  of  all  the  bodies 
of  our  race,  I  would  suggest  whether  an  argument  does  not 
rise  in  favour  of  a  full  and  complete  propitiation,  and  an  offer 
of  mercy  to  all  men.  It  may  be  alleged,  that  it  will  be  no 
benefit  to  the  wicked  that  their  bodies  are  raised.  And  will 
existence  itself  be  a  benefit  1  Will  all  the  privileges  which  they 
receive  in  this  life,  prove  benefits  ultimately  ?  They  surely 
might  have  been  benefits,  had  they  been  properly  improved, 
and,  so,  had  the  sinner  properly  improved  his  day  of  probation, 
the  resurrection  of  his  body  might  prove  a  benefit. 


393 

It  has  been  a  favourite  point  with  some,  that  the  church  of 
Christ  would  rise  from  the  dead  before  the  Millennium.  This 
idea  seems  not  to  be  supported  from  the  various  representations 
of  Scripture. 

XX.  The  day  of  judgment  will  immediately  follow  the  ge- 
neral resurrection,  when  angels,  and  men,  and  devils,  will  be 
assembled  before  the  Lord  Jehovah  Jesus.  He  shall  judge  the 
world,  pronounce  sentence,  and  execute  the  same.  In  the  ac- 
count which  the  Lord  Jesus  himself  gives  of  that  day,  in  the 
25th  chapter  of  Matthew,  the  moral  conduct  of  those  judged 
and  sentenced,  is  alone  mentioned.  "  Come  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,"  <fcc.  "  For  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat," 
Slc.  Again,  Revelation  xx.  11  and  12.  "  And  I  saw  a  great 
white  throne,  and  him  that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth 
and  heaven  fled  away ;  and  there  was  found  no  place  for  them. 
And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God,  and  the 
Books  were  opened ;  and  an-other  Book  was  opened  which  is  the 
Book  of  life  :  And  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things  writ- 
ten in  the  Books,  according  to  their  ivorks."  Again,  in  the  fol- 
lowing verse,  "  And  they  were  judged,  everi/  man  according  to  his 
works.'''' 

When  men  are  tried  before  God,  on  the  last  great  day,  the 
grand  question  will  be,  what  they  have  done  for  the  glory  of  God, 
and  for  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom.  Surely  those  who 
do  not  believe  in  Christ,  will  never  yield  obedience  to  his  laws, 
will  never  devote  themselves  to  his  service,  will  never  glorify 
his  name  on  earth — will  not  be  Christians.  It  is  freely  ad- 
mitted, that  "  faith  is  a  saving  grace,"  and  that  the  first  act  of 
faith,  is  justifying  ;  but  why  ?  It  is  because  it  is  an  insurance  of 
a  saving  change  of  heart — of  a  new  creature  :  it  is  an  evidence 
that  old  things  are  passed  away,  and  that  all  things  are  become 
new.  It  is,  in  one  word,  an  acceptance  of  life  and  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  the  understanding  assents,  as  the  Son  of 
God,  and  Saviour  of  sinners,  and  in  whom,  as  such,  the  heart  is 
delighted,  and  reposes  confidence. 

Divine  purposes,  of  which  neither  men  nor  angels  can  conceive, 
may   be  answered  by  the  general  judgment  ;  but  we  can  easily 


S94 

perceive  valuable  ends  answered  by  a  public  trial,  and  sentence. 
The  power,  and  majesty,  and  glory  of  God,  will  then  appear  to 
all  creatures  in  the  person  of  Christ.  Sinners  shall  look  on  him 
whom  they  have  pierced,  and  every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  all 
the  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  of  him.  The  govern- 
ment of  God  will  be  justified  in  view  of  all  intelligent  creatures, 
and  they  shall  acquiesce  in  the  justice  and  goodness  of  the  final 
sentence. 

XXI.  The  general  judgment  will  issue  in  an  everlasting  state 
of  rewards  and  punishments.  Sinful  creatures  will  dwell  in  a 
region  of  sin  and  misery.  Infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  will 
mete  out  the  nature  and  degree  of  their  sufferings.  But  from  the 
word  of  God,  as  well  as  from  the  nature  and  tendencies  of  sin, 
we  have  reason  to  believe  their  sufferings  will  be  great.  0,  sin- 
ner !  learn  the  value  of  the  present  hour,  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  O,  my  soul !  let  it  be  thy  chief  concern  to  seek  first 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  righteousness  thereof. 

As  the  lost  of  our  race  will  have  their  final  residence  with 
the  apostate  angels  ;  so,  the  redeemed  will  dwell  and  associate 
for  ever  with  the  elect  angels.  And  the  express  and  abundant 
promises  of  a  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  I  think,  should  be 
received  in  more  than  a  figurative  sense,  and  ought  to  be  un- 
derstood as  literally  true.  ''  And  he  that  sat  on  the  throne,  said, 
Behold,  I  make  all  things  new.  And  I  beheld  a  new  heavens 
and  a  new  earth  ;  for  the  first  heavens  and  the  first  earth  were 
passed  away,  and  there  was  no  more  sea."  It  may  not  be  im- 
pertinent to  remark,  that  some  have  thought,  that  before  ;^the  de- 
luge there  was  no  ocean  on  this  globe  ;  that  the  waters  were  in 
the  centre,  or  below  the  surface,  and  the  lands  incrusted  over 
them.*  And  certainly,  the  researches  of  Hutton,  Werner,  and 
other  eminent  geologists  of  the  present  day,  do  not  diminish  the 
probability  of  this  supposition. 

The  glories  of  the  new  heavens  and  earth  are  sublimely  de* 
scribed  in  the  scriptures.  There  will  be  a  peculiar  honour  and 
felicity  in  dwelling  with  angels  ;  beings  of  nobler  forms  and 
more  exalted  faculties  than  men.  All  the  powers  of  conversa- 
tion, locomotion,  perception,  and  enjoyment,  will  be  from  the 
*   Burnet's  Theory,  &c. 


395 

first  much  improved,  and  will  continue  to  improve  for  ever.  But 
a  chief  advantage  of  that  blissful  world  will  be  its  entire  free- 
dom from  all  sin,  and  all  its  consequences.  To  the  most  plea- 
sing situation  there  will  be  added  beauty  of  form  and  purity  of 
heart  ;  it  will  be  a  vast  region  of  pure  intelligence  and  unmin- 
gled  friendship.  One  glance  at  that  society,  one  thrill  of  those 
exalted  joys,  will  for  ever  cancel  all  regret  at  the  remembrance 
of  the  relations  and  loves  of  this  mortal  life. 

But  every  other  advantage  will  be  far  outweighed  by  the  con- 
tinual presence,  the  communion,  the  smiles,  the  love  of  the  in- 
carnate God.  The  amazing,  ineffable  glories  of  divinity,  con- 
centrated in,  and  beaming  round  his  person ;  softened,  familiar- 
ized, brought  near  to  the  converse  of  saints  and  angels  by  his 
lovely  humanity.  Around  his  throne  the  apostles,  patriarchs, 
prophets,  martyrs,  saints,  yea,  all  his  church — all  his  angels 
will  gather ;  each  arrayed  in  the  new  born  glories  of  immorta- 
lity— in  the  bright  and  spotless,  the  unfading  and  illustrious, 
robes  worn  at  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb.  "  The  Lamb  shall 
be  in  the  midst  of  them — shall  lead  them  by  fountains  of  living 
waters  ;  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." 

XXII.  The  church  of  God  seems  appointed  to  pass  through 
five  successive  dispensations,  and  may  be  compared  to  a  stream 
of  water  :  Her  fountain  head  was  in  Adam,  from  whom  till 
Moses,  she  seems  a  devious  and  almost  invisible  stream,  wan- 
dering through  impervious  forests  and  wilds.  From  Moses  till 
Christ,  her  waters  gathered  strength,  were  broader,  though  often 
narrowed  by  droughts,  and  almost  swallowed  up  in  sandy  de- 
serts. From  Christ  till  the  Millennium  she  becomes  a  majestic 
torrent ;  "  her  waves  roll  in  light,"  vessels  ply  on  her  broad  ex- 
panse ;  though  still  she  has  her  narrows,  her  rapids,  and  cata- 
racts. From  the  Millennium  till  the  judgment,  she  becomes  a 
sea  ;  for  then  the  knowledge  and  glory  of  God  "  covers  the  earth, 
as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  From  (he  general  judgment  she 
looks  forward  on  a  broad  and  boundless  duration  of  glory  and 
happiness  : 

"  Now  vast  eternity  fills  all  her  sight, 

She  floats  on  the  broad  deep  with  infinite  delight ; 

Her  seas  forever  calm,  her  skies  forever  bright." 


896 

Such  are  my  views  of  the  doctrines  of  religion.  The  outline, 
I  confess,  is  very  general  and  rapid :  but  if  I  have  not  sacrificed 
clearness  to  brevity,  unless  the  reader  mistake  the  import  I 
mean  to  give  to  the  terms  I  use,  he  may  judge  for  himself, 
"whether  they  be  Hopkinsian,  Calvinistic,  Arminian,  or  any 
thing  else.  Knowledge  and  information  are  common  stock. 
When  we  read  books,  and  discover  men's  opinions  and  prin- 
ciples, and  are  convinced  of  their  correctness,  or  find  they  agree 
with  our  own,  we  throw  them  into  our  own  funds,  and  at  length, 
perhaps,  forget  from  whom  we  derived  them.  Thus  they  be- 
come our  own.  But  we  are  in  continual  danger  of  mistaking 
authority  for  evidence ;  and  the  opinions  of  men,  for  the  word 
of  God.  If  we  escape  this  rock,  there  is  another,  still  more 
threatening,  ready  to  receive  us ;  that  is,  the  danger  of  reading 
books,  (not  excepting  the  Bible  itself,)  not  to  discover  what  is 
true,  but  to  gain  confirmation  in  our  opinions.  And  it  is  the 
unhappiness  of  most  people,  that  they  carry  this  point  so  far 
as  carefully  to  avoid  all  books,  excepting  such  as  they  are  pre- 
viously assured  will  give  them  full  support. 

Alas  !  the  blind  infatuation  of  men  !  could  an  inhabitant  of 
some  distant  world,  who  did  not  know  the  perverseness  and 
depravity  of  our  race,  believe,  that  there  was  such  a  thing 
among  men  as  adopting  a  religious  sentiment  because  it  was 
popular? — Not  because  it  was  true,  but  because  certain  great 
men  held  to  it?  Could  a  holy  angel  believe,  that  error  was 
made  a  stepping  stone  to  promotion  and  honour  1 — a  staircase 
to  popularity  and  distinction  ?  Could  he  believe  it  possible  that 
one  man  could  hate  and  persecute  another,  because  he  thought 
differently  from  him ;  and  perhaps  knowing,  at  the  same  time, 
(a  case  which  sometimes  happens,)  that  the  man  he  persecuted 
was  right,  and  he  was  wrong?  Alas!  angels  do  know  it— and 
if  susceptible  of  grief,  cannot  but  mourn  over  the  folly  and 
wretchedness  of  our  race.  Devils  know  it — and  if  they  can  at 
all  rejoice,  it  mast  be  to  see  themse,  /es  outdone  in  madness, 
inconsistency,  and  folly,  by  men  for  whom  a  Saviour  is  pro- 
vided. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


*                            DATE  DUE 

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GAYLORD 

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